Book 1 Gidget
by Writing a story
Summary: Episode 55: "Dream Weaver" The start of a new episode and a new day for the Hyper Force, but why do their dreams keep chasing them even when they are awake?
1. Ch 1 War revised

I know I rewrote this and have replaced Ch. 1. Enjoy! (_And now I'm doing it again for the 3rd time because goodness if I'm gonna start writing this again I don't want new readers to drop out in the first chapters because of how terrible this is. Though I'm gonna keep the original author notes in here cause why not comment on not only my own writing but also my ramblings?)_

Oh yeah, I support official couples and all that jazz,

Just not that much in this chapter.

Should I change the rating on this? I've seen a lot worse stuff under K+ than this.

_I also suppose a proper explanation for this is in order, you can skip on down to the actually story if you don't wanna read this overly long explanation for why a story over 3 years old is getting revamped. See after ignoring this story for way to long I've decided to finally finish it, and I mean not just this one but Book 0 and Books 2 and 3 eventually. Now I can't promise when I'll be able to get these all done, but I've finally sat down and wrote out outlines for the rest of this book and the next one so I know that will help me focus on getting them done in a reasonable time frame. Ideally, I would like to get a chapter out every 1 or 2 weeks but we'll have to see how busy my school scheduled is before I set anything. Honestly, the goal is to get this fic done before I graduate college and go on to grad school next year, cause I really won't have time to write it then. _

_I guess I should apologize cause I keep doing this, saying I'm gonna finish this story before I graduate (Seriously I said this same thing when I started writing this back in my last year of **high** school) but I really want to this time and have a pretty good plan set out to do it already. The point is, I want new and old readers to enjoy this story, which is also why I'm re-writing the first 13 chapters again. They are really the weakest of the bunch because they were written first, when I was a much more inexperienced writer and I would rather the story bog down in the middle of the book than at the beginning. Hopefully you will see an improvement between these chapters now that I'm going back and writing them with a new perspective and more skill, and really I'm not gonna change that much from the original story. I always thought that this story had a lot of potential and good, if not just a little bit clichéd, ideas that just needed more fleshing out and attention given to them.  
_

_See, I've always had the idea for this story in my head, basically ever since I first started watching the show years ago. I've also always wanted to tell this story, exploring both new and old characters while also trying to give at least some closure to a great show that ended way too early. I don't know if we will ever get a canon ending for this show, I would love one even it if was done in a new medium like a comic book or something, but I do know that until we get one, fans are free to exchange their ideas about what could have happened, and at it's bare basic bones, that's what this story is. This it certainly has problems, mostly in how poorly I originally developed Gidget and Genesis, but that's because I really didn't have a full idea of where I wanted the story to go or what these two characters were like when I started this out and now that I do I'm hoping to finally give you all closure to a silly, little idea that a 13 year old girl had a long, long ago.  
_

_So yeah, this isn't a new story updating 25 chapters in one day, it's a long, often abandoned but never forgotten love letter to a show that deserved more than it got from the network. So if you want, join me on this silly little adventure from the mind of a slightly odd author about how she would end this show if given a chance. I promise never to babble on this much again and I hope you enjoy the story. _

_Tl;dr version: Updated cause original was crappy, bringing this dead story back from the grave, enjoy.  
_

* * *

_They ran. _

_They ran from Them. _

_They ran from the hate and the lies. _

_They ran because they had had enough. _

They_ ran because they were afraid and if running was the only way to escape the pain, the abuse, then they would run. _

Clang! Clang! Clang!

_Their metallic feet made too much noise, they would be found soon, by Them. They had to escape, had to run, even if they didn't even know where to go.  
_

* * *

**The War**

The Boy, only 14 years old and had already experienced so much, the Boy who was already more like a man now, stood upon the large metal man's shoulder and sighed. The sun was setting and the sky and ground were ablaze with blood.

_How long until the ground is really covered in blood, I wonder. And who's will it be? _He thought to no one but himself. The war was coming, and he did not think his forces were ready, they were too few, too stretched out, too tired. _If anyone is out there, if you can hear me, please send us a miracle to help. _He placed a hand over his eyes and rubbed them absentmindedly, there is something to be said when you become so desperate for help you're willing to pray to any god who might be listening.

"You worry too much, Chiro." A sudden voice directly behind him made him jump a bit, but still he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Antauri, you scared me." Chiro stated while turning around to face his friend. "Why can't you walk like every one else?"

A silver simian who floated a few feet off the ground shrugged but smiled back for a moment before dropping the grin and looking seriously at the young leader. "Is it that you doubt the power of us, or that of our allies that makes you worry so much?" Chiro sighed heavily.

"Neither, I just believe in the number of our enemies more." Chiro hooked his thumb behind him towards the newly reincarnated Skeleton King army sitting just at the edge of the horizon.

"It is not mire numbers that decide a battle; skill and _purpose _also play a part." Antauri stated calmly. "They do not have the drive that we do. They are fighting to destroy, we are fighting to protecting not only our city but the entire universe." The silver simian had been looking pass Chiro and at the army as he spoke, but now he turned his attention back to the boy. "And if one was to ask my opinion, that alone would give us the upper hand, people can do amazing things when pushed. Not to mention, we have an even stronger weapon on our side than they can never hope to control; the Power Primate."

Chiro sighed but nodded while looking at his own chest. He could feel the power pulsing inside of him, put there by some greater purpose unknown to him, really for reasons unknown to him. Maybe Antauri was on to something, maybe they did have a greater chance at success than he had originally thought, but then why was this speech really not giving him confidence? As he pondered this, his hair fell in front of his eyes.

_I need a hair cut._ He thought with a slight smirk while flipping his hair back and actually laughing at the idea. _If we survive this the first thing I'll do is get one. _He told himself, chuckling softly. Here they were on the edge of the biggest battle the universe had ever seen, and all he could think about was getting a hair cut.

"Keep that thought process, Chiro." Antauri said with a smile and laying a hand gently on his shoulder. Chiro couldn't help but roll his eyes while answering.

"What, personal hygiene?" They both shared a laugh while Antauri shook his head before answering.

"No, that there will be a tomorrow." The smiles dropped from their faces as they briefly looked at each other for a minute before turning to look behind them to where the battle would be held in a few hours.

"Come Chiro, we must rest if we are to stand our ground and win this battle." The silver monkey said has he turned back towards the entrance of the Super Robot. Chiro nodded but stayed in place, slightly rocking on his heels.

"I know just give me a minute more and I'll head down." Antauri studied him a moment before nodding his head and leaving on his own. Chiro waited this his friend had descended the elevator, probably to go back and meditate, before turning his eyes back up to the sky and closing them.

_If anyone is there, please send help. _Chiro asked again, this time taking a deep breath before turning back and heading towards the elevator. He gave a final look back over his shoulder before he descended and sent one more thought out to whoever might be listening.

_Or send death quickly_

.::~::.

Chiro exited the elevator just as Nova and Sparx were in the midst of yet another verbal fight, probably the 20th or 30th in the past few days.

"You call that is a strategy?! We'll get fried in two minutes if we follow your plan!" The yellow monkey yelled dramatically while glaring profusely at her red companion.

"Well your plan consists of us running around _hoping_ we hit something!" the red monkey rebutted while flailing his hands around for emphasis.

The yellow monkey glared while placing her own hands on her hips. "And you couldn't think of a good plan if it were to bite you on the-"

Chiro sighed before clearing his throat loudly. "Don't you two think you could hold off fighting amongst yourselves, just until this battle is over? Trust me, we'll be in the middle of another fight soon enough and then you two can get out your pent-up rage then."

Both of the monkeys glared at each other before immediately starting to simultaneously shout out an excuse.

"He was trying to get us killed by-"

"No, she was going to have us run in with no-"

Chiro sighed, he knew that Sparx and Nova had volatile relationship. They both cared deeply for each other, but recently they had a tendency to butt heads at what seemed like every little disagreement. No doubt this had something to do with the event not long ago when Sparx had the object of Hate but... ugh, he did not have time for this. Point was that there was definitely something that was awakened between them then and if they didn't stop trying to convince themselves otherwise, they would never stop fighting.

"Look guys," Chiro mediated while stepping between the two, "I know a lot has happened in the last couple of days, the Skeleton King being reincarnated and Sparx's ... _incident_ just to name a few-" Sparx glanced away at his name, Chiro knew he still felt responsible for what had happened back there and that the wounds he had caused were still fresh- Nova hadn't even had time to replaced her cracked helmet yet- but if they kept pushing these problems back they would never be able to become a team again and then they definitely wouldn't stand a chance against the Skeleton King's army of Formless. "But we have got to stop fighting with each other and start fighting the actual bad guys."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, both of your ideas are horrible." Mr. Hal Gibson said nonchalantly while leaning against the main computer terminal. Sparx and Nova turned on Gibson together this time together.

"Hey Brain-Strain, I'd like to see you come up with a better plan!" Sparx yelled at him while crossing his arms in a huff. Chiro rolled his eyes, ready to move forward to intervene, but Gibson continued to explain.

"I did. While you two were arguing over whose plan was worse, I was making a better one." He stated simply while shrugging.

"Oh, yeah?" Nova said putting her hands on her hips, taking a defensive stance that could make even the biggest men hide in fear.

"Yes," he answered while turning to display a battle plan on the monitor. "We just have to position our selves in this specific arrangement, starting with Sector L we can-"

Chiro turned away as Gibson started to explain, no doubt he would repeat the plan a hundred times before tomorrow and Chiro would know it by heart after the 98th, he could afford to miss one explanation and since it seemed like Nova and Sparx had calmed down some. He instead chose to walk over to a curiously quiet member of the team, Otto, who appeared hard at work on something.

"What you working on there Otto?" Chiro asked as he leaned over the green simian's shoulder to get a peek at his project. Otto turned around and looked up at his leader with big, charcoal eyes behind large protective goggles and proceeded to give Chiro a smile that could only mean trouble, hopefully for their enemies.

In actuality, Otto was taking the Nova/Sparx situation harder than any one suspected. He had after all had- okay maybe just a little bit still had- a small, tiny crush on Nova, and he would do anything to hide it. Like keeping his mind busy on tasks or maybe even put on an exaggerated, fake smile.

"A hands-free communication system so we can have faster communicate between our allies and us." He held up a small ear piece that looked like a tiny monkey head with an antenna on the top while pushing his goggles up his face.

Chiro smiled. "That is genius Otto, can you make enough for all the sector leaders to use by tomorrow?"

Otto smiled his devilish grin again before answering. "Already have and then some." he said waving his hand over several already completed ear pieces. Chiro returned the smile, he could always rely on Otto, even if he was a little odd. Or a lot odd as the case might be, he was still an extremely reliable teammate and friend.

"And after sector A completes this maneuver, Sector Q can follow behind them and-" Gibson looked up and realized that Chiro was not even paying attention to the plan. "Chiro are listening to me?" He asked with more than a bit of annoyance in his voice as Antauri entered the Command Center with his hands held behind his back and moved towards the commotion calmly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, directing the question to the aggravated Gibson and quiet Chiro.

"Hey Antauri, and sorry Gibson." Chiro quickly apologized before changing the subject, "I was just looking at Otto's new invention, it's a hands free communication device that can be distributed to the troops." The team gathered around to look at the invention.

"Good job, Otto." Antauri stated while picking up the instruments and looking over it.

"Yeah, great work Otto!" Nova said excitedly while slinging her arm over Otto's shoulder. "See _Otto_ can actually do something useful, unlike certain other members of this team." She glared at Sparx while saying this last comment. Otto blushed, but quickly pulled his goggles back down and continued to work quietlywhile Sparx, however, was about to make a loud and most likely smart remark when Jinmay walked in.

"Hey guys!" she said cheerfully, "All the sector leaders just arrived to discuss the battle plan for tomorrow, you guys ready to show it?"

"Excellent." Gibson stated with a smile while smoothing down his fur. "I just completed it and was going over it with the rest of the team. Please gather everyone in here swiftly, we have so much to discuss." He turned back to the computer and began typing quickly, "We have to discuss the strategy, organize the brigades, distribute the solders in groups that will maximize productivity and likely-hood of success while also distributing ammunition and-"

Jinmay walked over to Chiro with a smile and playfully bumped him with her hip. "So, are _you_ going to explain the plan, because I think the war will be over before Gibson gets done talking about it."

Chiro smiled at Jinmay and nodded his head, leaving Gibson to quickly shut his mouth and issue them a slight glare. Gibson was really quite a talker once he got stared and they really did not have time to waste on loquacious vocabulary. The battle would start in the morning and they still needed to explain the plan to all the troops and at least try to get a good night's rest before hand. Not that anyone would really be able to actually sleeping, at the very least they could try.

"Alright guys let's get everyone in here so that we can finally get this ball rolling!" Chiro said with authority. He hoped they could learn the plan in time, without one they didn't stand a chance. Not there was much of one anyway but in the past had they always seemed to pull through somehow. Maybe Antauri was right and they could rely on the Power Primate to get them through, it hadn't let them down before. He could only hope their luck would hold out for a little longer. Or continue to pray for a miracle.

.::~::.

Sparx finished checking his controls and settings inside the Fist Rocket 3 before sighing and laying a hand on his forehead.

_Only a few minutes until the battle, you know, the one that could have been avoided if I hadn't completely messed everything up? I should have been able to overcome the hate, I should have been able to keep Skeleton King from coming back, I should have-_ _No, stop. I know if I think like that then we won't win, I can blame myself all I want to after the fight, but now I need to focus. _

He grunted while triple and quadruple checking his controls again. He knew it was his fault no matter what anyone else tried to tell him, he felt responsible and it _was_ his fault Nova had gotten hurt and he not would let that happen again. Actually speaking of Nova, he wasn't completely sure he had apologized to her yet for what had happened, or maybe he had but because what he had done was so horrible and unforgiving, he felt like he hadn't yet. Rubbing his arm absent-mindedly, he flipped a switch that let him open up a private line to her. Nova appeared in front of him, annoyed and on-screen.

She looked up angrily and glared at him. "What do you want Sparx? I'm kinda busy right now and have work to do."

Sparx knew he should just apologize and say what he wanted to say, but he just couldn't resist the temptation. He put on a huge grin, "Just thought I would see what you're doing, Sweet Cheeks." he said with a wink.

Nova glared at him with a look that could kill, then suddenly she smiled and simply said, "Goodbye, Sparx" while reaching for the button to close the line.

"No wait!" Sparx shouted quickly, "I really have something important to say!"

Nova leaned back and crossed her arms while raising an eyebrow and looking at him suspiciously. "What?" She asked shortly.

He took a deep breath before starting. "I just wanted to say sorry...for everything." Nova shifted in her seat uncomfortably, but dropped the harsh look.

"Sparx, I know." She said while trying to look busy. "You've said is several times now I told you it's fine-"

"But it's not." Sparx harshly stated. Nova tried to stop herself from visibly cringing at his tone, but was unsuccessful in the attempt and Sparx saw. A look of hurt passed over his face quickly before disappearing again and being replaced by a grimace and another mumbled apology. "Look, I'm pretty sure I could spend every minute of every day apologizing and trying to make up for what I did to you back there-" Nova started to protest but a quick hand gesture from Sparx stopped her and he continued, "and I still would never feel like I had said it enough." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "So I guess we can settle for me making sure I say it at least once a day for the rest of eternity and then maybe I would feel like I can finally earned your trust back."

"You don't have to do that Sparx..." Nova started to say while he shook his head slowly and looking down.

"No, I really do though." He brought his eyes back up and saw Nova doing her own slow head shake now.

"No you don't. I do trust you and I really do forgive you." she managed a small smile while leaning a bit closer to the screen. She felt like she was putting on a good show for a particularly tough lie. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sparx at all, just that she didn't trust him completely yet. But she did care for him and making sure he was okay was definitely a step in the right direction to get her to feel safe around him again. She also really didn't want to hear him apologize anymore, it was just getting awkward now. "So please, stop constantly saying you're sorry, okay?"

Sparx nodded while offering a small smile. "Yeah okay, deal. I'll stop being nice now." His grin grew more genuine this time.

Nova playfully rolled her eyes, "Good, is that all? Can I get back to battle prep now?" To her surprise, Sparx actually dropped the grin and bit his lip.

"Actually no," He said slowly, "there is one more thing I wanted to ask you." He started to grow nervous as a knot built up in his stomach.

"What?" Nova asked genuinely curious.

"What are you going to do after all of this?" Sparx began to fiddle idly with his controls, trying to look busy. "Ya know, after the war. If we actually win that is."

"What?" Nova asked confused. "What are you talking-"

"I think I want to continue racing, you know off of Shugazoom." Sparx continued on quickly. "Like head back to my old coach and see if I can't get back into the circuit again."

Nova blinked a few times, she honestly had no idea where this was going. "What does that have to do with-"

"Cause see, I want you to come with me." Sparx rushed on while looking down to hide the blush creeping into his cheeks. Nova stopped, mouth agape and looked at him. She was actually speechless, Where was this coming from? Sparks used this time of her utter shock to quickly to turn on the open line, causing everyone's faces appeared on-screen.

"You guys ready for this?" He asked with a big grin, acting like he hadn't just asked Nova to essentially move off planet with him.

Gibson looked up and actually offered the red simian a smile "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." He answered truthfully.

"Well I'm ready to roll!" cheered Otto loudly while throwing a fist in the air. "Jinmay, you ready in communications?"

"Yes, the system is up and running, we have established contact with every sector and worked out the few bugs. Apprently some people couldn't figure out where to put it, but after someone showed Master Offay how you could wear it in your _ear,_ everything was fine. Now everyone is just waiting till you guys give us the signal." She answered fairly calmly, considering they were about to enter the largest battle any of them had ever seen.

"Anytime you're ready, Chiro." Antauri said simply, looking to the leader.

Chiro nodded at the second in command before taking a breath and a moment to gather himself. "Alright then, guys let's get ready for this. As soon as the sun fully passes the horizon, we strike."

.::~::.

The line was shut off and the screens went blank as Nova sighed. How was she suppose to respond to that? It wasn't exactly what she had been expecting when Sparx had first called her up.

_But isn't what you wanted? _Her a small voice in her head asked, _Isn't something like this what you wanted him to say when you told him you loved him? _

"I didn't tell him I loved," she growled to no one. "I just said didn't want to lose him."

_You said you loved him too much to lose him. _The voice countered.

"So? I love everyone too much to lose them, Chiro, Otto, even Jinmay."

_Well what did you really think he and everyone else would get from you saying something like that? _

"It's just-" Nova struggled to explain how she felt, but the voice just urged her on.

_Then you don't really love him?_

"No, I didn't exactly say that either, it's just, just-" she struggled for words. In anger, she brought her fist down hard on her seat. She was frustrate and flustered now, two things she really didn't need to be right before battle and now she was getting progressively annoyed and angry at Sparx. How dare he suddenly just throw something like that out at her!

She growled deep in her throat as she thought about how mad she was at him now. Except, instead of the anger growing more, it actually started to subside and started to be replaced by... curiosity? Did he really mean it? Did he really want her to go with him if they survived the war? She considered this thought while thinking more on the proposition. It was pretty obvious what he was implying if she agreed to go with him, Sparx had never really been subtle about his feelings towards her, even if he had never actually gathered up the courage to tell her. The question was how did she feel about him? And she knew what was stopping her from really deciding, she _was_ still afraid of him. She still had that scar he had given her just a few days prior and she still felt the pain of almost losing him.

"So basically, I don't want to lose him and I don't want to get hurt again." She sighed while cradling her head between her hands. "I miss the good old days when everything was simple and we all just fought weekly monsters together." She set her head back against her seat with her eyes closed and sighed.

"And I _really _hate the trick he pulled with the intercom."

Meanwhile in the other foot of the Robot, while Nova struggled with her own thoughts and feelings, Otto tried to clear his head of everything, get rid of all the thoughts flying around and focus. Anything that might have to do with Nova, Sparx, he couldn't afford think about that now. He had work to do and there was a battle minutes away. Like he told himself over and over, it was just a small crush and he should be happy for Sparx and Nova, and he was most definitely not jealous of them. Nope, no way, not at all. He continued to tell himself this as the small screen to his left suddenly flipped on and showed an orbit path of outer space Shugazoom.

_Weird, I didn't turn that on-_ He thought to himself before stopping mid-sentence and actually registering what he was seeing on the screen. _Oh no way..._

.::~::.

Nova made up her mind, she would tell Sparx her decision before the battle, let him sit on that while they fought their greatest enemy. She flipped her own switch for Sparx's private line.

"Hey Sparx-" She started say before the words caught in her throat. He looked up at her and smiled and she felt her stomach tighten as he answered sweetly.

"Yes Nova?" He gave a radiant smile which she thought was supposed to be charming or something but just made her face burn. That cocky attitude of his made her furious and she just hated him for it!

Though she also kinda loved him for it. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Listen I-"

"Guys!" Otto suddenly interrupted, "There's something you need to see!"

"Otto!" Gibson started, "We don't care what the _hilarious_ video you just found is, we need to focus on that battle at hand."

"No, it's not that," Otto yelled while violently shaking his head before stopping and bringing his hand up to his chin. "Thought actually there is this one with a really cute cat in it…"

"Otto, continue on with the actual urgent matter please." Antauri said calculatedly.

"Oh right! Well anyways I was just sittin' here when my-oniter ca-on an-ere wa-a biff!" Otto tried to explain as the video feed skipped for Jinmay.

"A what? Otto slow down!" Jinmay said while griping the communicator in her ear, "I can't -derst-nd -ou! The co-munica-ons are -oing ou-." she finished just before it was lost in a sea of static.

"What's going on?" Chiro said frantically, he did not have time for this. "Jinmay can you hear us?"

"Look!" Sparx brought the teams attention to their screens, luckily the Super Robot's internal communications system was working but more importantly, he was indicating everyone to look in front of the robot. Skeleton King's Army had just arrived.

"Scrap." Chiro mumbled under his breath. "Jinmay, Do we have any communication with the other forces?" The silence on other end of the line answered for him. "We really are in trouble now."

Nova gasped, "What is that?" she asked suddenly indicating everyone to look skyward. In the brightening morning light, a streak of light had appeared on the still darkened horizon from which Skeleton King's forces were arriving.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, radar picked up something coming in." Otto rushed to explain "And it's coming in fast."

"How could the radar pick up something so tiny," Gibson inquired while leaning forward to get a better look at his own screen. "A meteor that small should have burned up as it entered the atmosphere."

"Because," Otto explained quickly, almost bouncing in his seat with excitement. "That's not the only thing it picked up.

"It picked up a distress signal with it."

"A distress signal?" Nova echoed. "You mean to tell me that thing is a ship?"

"Can you make out what it's saying?" Chiro asked, still keeping an eye on both the growing light and approaching enemy.

"No, but I looked it's frequency is identical to the one I used for the ear pieces." Otto explained. "That's why we lost contact with Jinmay, the static should stop when that thing lands."

"Or crashes." Sparx pointed out while looking closely at his screen. "There is no way someone is in control of that vehicle, coming in at that speed, when they hit the ground it's gonna be a rough landing."

"And where exactly would that land?" Antauri asked wearily.

"Right on top of…" Gibson said while calculating quickly before gasping, "The enemy."

"It's gonna land on Skeleton King?!" Chiro asked excitedly.

"According to my calculations, yes." Gibson stated while double checking.

"What should we do?" Chiro asked glancing between the Skeleton King army and the quickly enlarging light.

"Let it hit 'em!" Nova yelled. "They'll get what's coming to 'em!"

"I don't think we have time to stop it if we decided to." Antauri said simply. "Besides, we shouldn't take a miracle for granted." He looked at Chiro regarding this last comment but said nothing, causing him to blushed slightly.

In seconds though, the fiery ball had grown almost double in size. _Wow, _thought Chiro, _Otto wasn't joking when he said- _The space craft crashed right into Skeleton King's army, obliterating everything around it.

"Monkey Doodle." Sparx gasped, or maybe he yelled it, the resulting explosion was so loud, it sounded like a whisper to Chiro's ear. A gigantic crater appeared, were only seconds before, approached almost certain doom. Half of the enemy was wiped out in that single blast. Everyone sat in shocked silence as they watched the ensuing chaos. They saw Skeleton King yelling and could only imagine what he was saying, probably nothing appropriate for someone as young as Chiro to hear, as he hit Mandarin on the head and turned around, stomping around his bony throne.

Then he started to _walk away._

"No Way" Chiro whispered. "He can't be…"

"Retreat!" the Skeleton King yelled at his minions. "We must make more reinforcements! Retreat!" The team sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, then they erupted in cheers. They couldn't believe their luck, they now had a chance! They could strike him while he was down and-

Nova suddenly noticed Otto wasn't cheering along with them, in fact, he was looking very intently at the wreck. "Otto, what's wrong?" she asked laughing. "We won the battle!"

"They're still trapped inside." He said simple, standing up quickly.

"Who are-" Nova tried to stammer out in the few seconds it took Otto to ejected from the Robot and start to fly towards the mangled wreck that had once been a space craft.

* * *

Alright guys, now I went and rewrote this Chapter (_Now for third time_) so there should be a lot less spelling errors and it flows a bit better. Go to the next Chapter to read about the title character!

R&R!

_I actually like how this 3rd rewrite turned out, I think it flows a lot better now and is just a general improvement on the previous version. I'm sure there are still some errors and it is certainly not perfect, but I fixed a whole lot of Out of character moments that plagued it before and really tried to cut out the fluff. I think there is a lot more Character Development now and it is setting up for even more in the later chapters. It's also almost 3 times longer than it originally was, yikes._


	2. Ch 2 Suvivors

So because I got such a favorable response on Ch. 1, here's a Christmas present Ch. 2. Now we meet my Ocs, this will be fun. (_And also a bit cliched and silly with at least one mary sue but I'll get to that at the end_.) Leave comments, they make me work faster!

* * *

Otto had only one thing on his mind as he flew towards the burning wreckage; save the people inside that crash. He could hear the screaming protests in his ear from his teammates, annoyed and focused on the rescue, he turned his communications device off.

One hundred feet from the crash site, the heat was almost unbearable and he soon was drenched in sweat. As he neared the mass of twisted metal that had once been a space craft, he saw how it was dented, blackened, and almost made unrecognizable to anything even resembling a small, oblong craft that looked hardly large enough to hold a full-grown human. As he approached the ship, he could see the protective glass of the windshield starting to melt from the intense heat of the fire, making it impossible to get even a glimpse of who might be inside the wreckage. He quickly flew around to the backside of the ship and searched for a door or opening, and not seeing one, he drew his arms back and readied his saws. He coughed and squinted through the black smoke, making sure he could predict the path of his saws before wiping the sweat out of his eyes and sending his weapons flying. They followed the path he had calculated without a hitch, and cut straight into the opening in the back. In a few strikes, a square-shaped hole appeared in the back and slowly fell backwards onto the ground, then he swiftly flew down towards the opening and gasped.

.::~::.

"Otto!" Nova yelled at her green teammate as he flew straight into the burning mass of metal that had just dropped out of the sky. "Otto wait! We don't know who's in there! This could be a trap or anything!" She started to unhook herself from her own seat as she heard Chiro barking orders for Otto to return and wait for everyone else uselessly into the headset. Surely Otto really didn't believe anything could have survived that crash, did he? It was amazing enough that the space ship was still somewhat intact, but it wouldn't be for long in that inferno. _Please Otto, come back safely, _she thought heavily to herself.

_Dang it Otto! _Sparx thought as he jumped off the controls of his fist rocket, _Could you have picked a better time to notice that blip? _He hit his dashboard with his fist in annoyance. _Nova was just about to tell me she loved me and you completely screwed that up, friend. _"Kid!" He suddenly barked at Chiro, "I'm gonna go out and drag Otto back here and help him if there is actually anyone in that wreckage alive."

"Can no one just listen to me and wait until we have assessed the situation to run off into a possible trap?" Chiro asked exasperated while rubbing his head before sighing and throwing his hands up in defeat. "Fine, go help Otto, Sparx."

"Wait I wanna go too!" Nova spoke out as she stood up herself. "If it is a trap they could use all the help they can get." Chiro sighed again nodded firmly.

"Alright then, Sparx and Nova will go help Otto, Gibson you go prepare the medical bay in case someone actually survived that mess and needs medical attention, get Jinmay to help you." He ordered quickly as Sparx and Nova flew from the robot and after Otto. As Otto had predicted, the interference had stopped once the ship has crashed and now Jinmay was desperately trying to find out what was going on while Antauri calmly explained the situation to her and gave her instructions to alert the troops to what had happened and to stand down. Chiro let out yet another frustrated sigh and held his head in-between his hands while rubbing his temples. _I really hope Otto knows what he's doing out there._

.::~::.

Smoke poured out from the cockpit the second Otto cut open the hole, and a tiny creature appeared in the doorway coughing heavily. It was small, maybe just a little bit more than half the size of Otto, and it had two antennas coming out of the side of its head, and another one sprouting out on top. As the smoke cleared he saw that it also had a tail and… that it was a cyborg monkey. A small, brown monkey with a big red bow attached to its head and a pack slung on its back stepped up to the monkey-made hole coughing and rubbing its eyes. The moment it looked up saw him, a horrified look spread across its face and it stumbled back inside hastily. Otto stood there for a moment trying to process what he had just seen before pushing logic to the side and jumping into action.

"Hey there little-" he as he spoke and approached it, the little, brown monkey shrunk away from him, terrified. As he slowly crouched down and got closer, Otto noticed it had pink eyes, "...lil' sis, its okay, big bro Otto is here to save you." He gave her a big smile and opened his arms wide, trying to comfort her. She looked at him uneasily and then relaxed a bit at the mention of his name. She then started to jump around excitedly and yell, at least it looked like she was trying to yell, but no sound came out of her opened mouth. _I wonder if she is mute._ Otto thought tilting his head to the side as he looked where she was pointing and caught his breath in his throat.

Beside the pilot's seat in a heap laid yet another monkey, a purple monkey at that and one about the same size as Otto. Otto guessed that it was actually a she because she looked kinda like Nova, but had a black instead of a white chest. He could also tell that she was hurt, and badly at that. The large spike on top of her head was badly damaged and missing most of the colored part at the very tip, Otto figured she had damaged it in the crash. He also kinda thought that she was really, really cute and if not for the growing, unbearable heat, he probably would have been content to stand there and look down at her, but she was hurt and that would be kinda creepy anyways and he needed to get her help now. He leaned down to pick her up when the small brown monkey suddenly grabbed his arm, and seemed to plead with him. _Please don't hurt her, _her large, round eyes begged.

Otto looked at her, slowly nodded and said with a smile, "Don't worry lil' sis, I'll keep her safe." This seemed to put the small monkey at ease and she nodded with approval and let her hand drop. Otto carefully gathered up the purple monkey in his arms, laying her head in the crook of one elbow and placing the back of her knees in the other. She grunted slightly as her head rolled against his chest, but stayed unconscious and unresponsive. He gently positioned her in the crook of just one of his arms and then opened his other arm to the smaller monkey.

"Come on little one, I have to get you out of here now too." He smiled at her reassuringly, and the small girl actually seemed on the edge of tears. She hurriedly stumbled into his arm as he hugged them both tightly and took off from the wreck seconds before the flames consumed the opening.

As Otto left the burning wreak behind him, he noticed that his red and yellow teammates were swiftly flying towards him, and that the little brown one had fainted, but that was no surprise. Frankly, he was amazed she stayed awake through that landing and boy, was he was glad she that she did. He was not sure he would have seen the purple one without her. Sparx and Nova caught up to him about half way back to the Robot and Nova immediately started to snap at him.

"Otto are you crazy!?" She yelled at him the moment he was in ear shot, "You had no idea who or what could have been in... that..." she trailed off as she finally noticed what the bundles Otto was carrying back from the ship were. "Holy scrap, are those more monkeys!?" Otto nodded tiredly.

"Yeah and I think the big one is hurt pretty badly, the brown one is just exhausted, she actually managed to stay awake during the crash and pointed the purple girl out to me."

"She managed to stay awake?" Sparx asked as he moved closer to take one of the girls from Otto, who handed the small brown one to him. "Geez she must be as tough as nails!" Nova just looked in shock between the two new monkeys and brought a hand up to her mouth. Finally she snapped out of her stupor and contacted the team back in the Robot.

"Um guys? Prepare the med lab for two patients." She spoke quickly as they swiftly flew back to the robot. "And you are not gonna believe what they are."

"I'm pretty sure nothing could surprise me at this point." Gibson remarked as he rushed around the lab, "What exactly are they and what is the initial damage assessment?"

"Well..." Nova trialed on as she kept taking looks behind her to confirm what she was seeing. "They are both unconscious but breathing, and they probably have slight smoke inhalation and probably concussions but as for what they are..." She shook her head, still in shock and confusion as to what she was about to say. "They are robotic monkeys."

.::~::.

Otto, Sparx and Nova flew into the Super Robot carrying the passengers and were quickly assaulted with questions.

"Who's more damaged?" Gibson asked as Chiro took the purple monkey from Otto, allowing the tired monkey to catch his breath.

"I think the purple one is," Otto said looking at the spike on her head, "and the little brown one was awake when I got there but passed out on the way back."

"It was awake?!" Antauri questioned as they took the injured monkeys to the med lab and laid them down on examination tables. "Did it tell you who they were or, or where they're from or why they came here?"

"She didn't say a word, and she passed out on the way to the Super Robot." Otto explained quickly while bringing a hand up to his head and rubbing the back of it. "I'm actually not sure she can talk at all to be honest." The computer beeped as it completed a scan of both girls.

"Interesting, their skeletal structure appears to be the same as ours." Gibson remarked while examining the computer terminal. He rubbed his chin a moment before quickly typing on the keyboard. "In fact the only difference I initially see is that the small brown one does not seem to have hollow arms like ours to hold any weapons, other than that they appear almost identical to us."

"Yeah about that," Nova said crossly while setting her fists on her hips. "I thought we were the only cybernetic monkeys running around, Qhere the heck did these guys come from?"

"Well obviously we were wrong, because How else would you explain these two right here?" Gibson replied while shrugging and helping Otto attach computer arms into the ports on the back of the girl's heads. The computer blipped again and Gibson turned around to look over the results. "Oh, well according to these initial scans, the brown one is perfectly fine, except for being a little dehydrated and a bit famished along with normal exhaustion, probably from that landing. The purple one has a couple of loose circuits though, however that seems to be an easy fix that the computer can handle itself."

"So what does all this mean?" Chiro asked frustrated. "If they are just like you guys, does that mean the Alchemist made them too?"

"I don't know." Gibson sighed simply while putting one hand on his chin. "This is some mystery."

As everyone chatted, the brown monkey began to awaken. Everyone crowded around her as they noticed her opening her eyes and once again she did one of her silent screams. She almost fell off the examining table as she scrambled back away from the team, catching herself at the last second, before hastily backing away into a corner, terrified

"Hey now, don't worry it's ok now we're not going to hurt you." Chiro said soothingly as he walking slowly towards her with his hands outstretched. Her panicked eyes darted around the room frantically searching and finally landing on the door. She looked back at the approaching team again before blinking once and vanishing, everyone jumped back in surprise and started searching the room.

"Where did she go?" Sparx asked as the small girl suddenly reappeared behind them all and made a run for the door.

"Hey, wait!" Nova yelled at her, "We just want to talk!" but the small monkey had already ran to the other side of the room and was about to reach for the door when it opened unexpectedly and Jinmay walked in

"Hey guys what the heck's going on around here? What was in that ship-" She asked confused as the small monkey ran head first into her. "Oh! Well hello..." Jinmay said looking down in shock as girl pushed herself back from Jinmay and scurried to hide in another corner.

"Everyone stop!" Otto yelled as the small girl sank down against the wall, chest heaving quickly as her frantic eyes finally settled on Otto. He slowly walked towards her with open arms. "Hey lil' sis, it's ok. Your big brother Otto is here, don't be scared anymore." She lifted her head and locked eyes with Otto before she leaped into his arms and buried her face in his chest. "There, there it's ok." Otto reassured her as he patted her back. "We're just here to help you, no one wants to hurt you. I won't let them, promise." She slowly lifted her head up and looked at the rest of the team over his shoulder cautiously.

"I know they look scary," Otto whispered to her, "but I promise they won't hurt you, we're all here to help you." Her eyes swept over the team as she slowly detached herself from Otto before finally looking over to the table were the purple monkey laid. She loudly gasped and ran to the table, seeming to forget that moments ago she was terrified of the team.

"She will be fine." Gibson said softly as he slowly walked closer to the table. "The computer's just fixing a few of her circuits and will repair her fully. She should be awake soon." The small brown monkey eyed Gibson suspiciously and then looked at Otto for confirmation.

"Yes, he's telling the truth." Otto nodded to her as he walked closer and put a hand on her shoulder for assurance. "Gibson is really smart, and knows his stuff, he'll make her all better."

Nova crouched down till she was eye level with the little girl, causing the tiny monkey to hide behind Otto. "It's okay, I don't bite." She said with a smile. "Can you tell us your name?" The little monkey bit her lip and looked up to Otto.

He nodded at her before facing the rest of the team. "See? I don't think she can actually talk at all." The monkey nodded quickly at this, indicating that this was indeed the case.

Nova looked at her again while placing a hand on her own cheek. "Well is there any other way you can communicate with us?"

"What is she suppose to do, use charades?" Sparx asked with a smirk and leaning against the wall, but the brown monkey nodded vigorously at this and actually managed to smile. She reached round into the bag on her back and came back with a pad of paper and a pencil. She quickly flipped until she found a clean page and wrote a simple word: _Genesis._

"Genesis," Chiro read upside down. "Is that your name?"

"No, she actually goes by Geni." a sudden voice behind them answered. They all turned to see that the purple monkey had finally woken up and was sitting on the table, watching them all with calm amusement. "Can you guys tell me where we are?"

.::~::.

Everyone stopped and looked at the newly awaken purple monkey as she unhooked the charger from her head and stared back at everyone else. After a minute of silence she finally said: "Great, we're with a whole bunch of other mutes, just like you Geni." Genesis sprang into the purple monkey;s arms as she jumped off the table. Still no one could manage to say anything and finally she just sighed. "Alright, I guess it's rude to not introduce yourself first so, I'm Gidget and this is Genesis, or Geni. Now can we know where the heck we are?" This finally broke the team's silence and everyone began talking and bombarding them with questions all at once.

"Where are you from?"

"Who made you?"

"Are you the only ones?"

The purple monkey just glared at them and slowly they stopped asking questions. "You know it's still rude to not introduce yourself." She explained simply while crossing her arms. Otto realized what she wanted and smiled as extended his hand towards her.

"Hi, I'm Otto and I'm the team's mechanic." He explained quickly as she returned the smile and shook his hand vigorously.

"Nice to meet you Otto." She with a grin. "I have more than a passing interest in mechanics myself, I'm sure we're gonna be quick friends, as it looks like you already are with Geni." Otto noticed that Gidget's eyes were actually lilac with black pupils and seemed happy and ready to learn.

_Ok, so maybe she didn't look just like Nova_, Otto thought to himself. _And maybe that's a good thing_. She smiled down at Geni before continuing.

"She doesn't usually take so kindly to strangers, you must be pretty special." She smiled back up at Otto and he blushed.

"Yeah, Otto is pretty cool like that." Sparx said stepping forward and slinging an arm around Otto's shoulders. "I'm Sparx by the way, and I'm the best monkey pilot in the universe, since it seems we're telling titles now."

"Great," Gidget said. "maybe I can take lessons from you some time, I don't think I quite got the handle on that whole landing thing yet." She nodded over her shoulder towards where she thought her crashed ship was.

Gibson set a hand on his chest. "Mr. Hal Gibson, it's a pleasure." The girls smiled at the formality of the introduction. "And where exactly were you coming from before you crashed your ship?" Gidget began to answer and then stopped, she looked down at her feel like she was trying to remember something before slowly shaking her head.

"I don't know." She said simply while biting her lip.

"You don't know?" Nova echoed disbelieving. Everyone looked at her and waited silently until she felt her face turn red and she quickly added, "I'm Nova by the way." before turning away embarrassed.

"Nice to meet you, and yeah I can't remember." Gidget repeated. "I remember traveling through space to get wherever here is, but before that I don't remember anything."

Chiro stepped forward. "Hi I'm Chiro, the leader of this team. What exactly do you mean by you don't remember anything?"

"I mean remember who I am and who Geni is and general stuff about us, but I don't know where we were before we left there." She sighed while hugging Geni closer to her. "All I know is that we had to get away from where ever we left." She shuttered and then continued in a small voice, "It was a bad place." Chiro glanced quickly at Antauri and then looked back at Gidget. Antauri gave a small nod to indicate he understood what Chiro wanted him to do, to get inside her mind and see if she was telling the truth. He closed his eyes and concentrated as Chiro tried to distract her. He was asking how she found Shuggazoom when she suddenly turned and glared at Antauri.

"It's rude to try and read someone's mind without you introducing yourself first," she closed her eyes for a second and concentrated. "Antauri." Antauri stepped back and looked at her in shock.

"You're telepathic too." he gasped as she quickly nodded.

"Yep, that's probably something you should try and find out before you go and read someone's mind." She snapped a little annoyed before calming down as Geni tugged at her side and gave Gidget her own glare. "I'm sorry." She quickly apologized, "I guess there really isn't any set etiquette when it comes to mind walking, I didn't mean to snap, I'm just kinda spent I suppose. We were traveling for a long time before we tried to land on your planet to get help. That was when I realized while I had been flying the ship fine before, I didn't actually know how to land it."

"Wait, wait wait." Sparx said while waving his hands in front of his face. " Can we back up for a second? You read minds and she can turn invisible?" He asked while pointing to each of them while Gidget looked down at Geni,

"You already showed them? Aw there goes that surprise, and it's actually more teleporting than turning invisible but..."

"She can teleport?!" Everyone confirmed in unison.

"Yup," Gidget said casually with a shrug. "You can't?"

They all looked with wide eyes as Otto asked "Can you?"

"No," she replied with a bit of a mischievous grin, "I was just trying to see what kind of powers you guys had, I basically just told you just about everything I know about us, but we know hardly know anything about you at all. How about we start with you guys telling me why us being cybernetic monkeys is so special."

Gibson stepped forward at this and cleared his throat. "Please allow me to explain this one." The team let out a collective groan but he just cleared his throat dramatically again and sent them a quick silencing glare before continuing. "You see frankly, until you fell unto our laps we assumed we were the only robotic monkeys in the universe."

"Just you five?" Gidget asked skeptically.

"Well, us and one other." Nova explained quickly. "But he doesn't really count any more."

"Why not?" Gidget asked confused as she looked around the room.

"It's a long story, and trust me you're going to be beat just listening to Gibson ramble." Nova stated as Gibson gave her a brief look but continued.

"Yes, so with the addition of you and your..." He prompted Gidget to finish it.

"Sister." She completed simply which Gibson nodded in agreement with.

"So with the addition of you and your sister then that brings out total numbers up to seven. That is, unless you happen know about anymore cyborg monkeys?" He asked while giving Gidget time to respond.

"I-" She started to reply then stopped again and looked intently down at the ground. Antauri thought she looked like she almost remembered something… until she just shook her head and look straight at Gibson. "No, I don't think we know any more." She answered quickly while Geni clutched Gidget's leg more tightly.

"Alright then assuming that there really were only seven monkeys made," Sparx said matter-of-factually. "Why are we just now meeting you two?"

"Like I said I don't know any more about us than you do, so I don't have a clue." Gidget answered earnestly.

"Well surely, there must be something-" Nova started to say just as Gidget's stomach growled loudly and interrupted her.

"Sorry," she said blushing and looking embarrassed, "I haven't had any thing to eat in a few days. You guys wouldn't happen to have something we could..."

"Oh of course!" Jinmay exclaimed suddenly speaking for the first time in several minutes, "Let me go fix you two something, and by the way, I'm Jinmay." As she turned to leave the room, Antauri made the suggestion that they could all go and sit down in the Command Center while allowing Otto to lead the way and explain different things about their lives.

"You see, we live on the planet Shugazoom, in Shugazoom City inside the Super Robot." Otto happily rambled on as they entered the Command Center.

"That's a lot of S's." Gidget remarked as she looked around the expansive room. "What exactly is a 'super robot'?" Gidget asked genuinely intrigued.

"You're standing inside of him." Otto said with a smile. Gidget and Genesis looked around at the walls and ceilings with a small amount of wonder.

"Oh cool, Did you build it?" Gidget asked excitability as she turned to face Otto.

"Naw I didn't, but we've had him since the beginning, but I do help maintain him." Otto said with a certain amount of pride.

"That's so cool!" Gidget exclaimed while clutching her hands to her chest. "I like to work on different inventions and stuff occasionally."

"You're an engineer too?" Sparx asked as they all settled down near the bubble shaped chairs.

"Well kinda." Gidget explained as she sat down on the floor. "I'm pretty good with machines, I like seeing how they work and I can fix them pretty well and stuff but I'm not really an expert, I'm kinda better at more software focused things than hardware, though I like both. And I love taking things apart and putting them back." She explained while bringing her tail in front of her and keeping her hands occupied by fiddling with it. "Well actually I really just like taking them apart." she said with a sly smile. She continued looking around the room in wonder before snapping her attention back to the team and asking, "Hey, do you guys have any powers like me and Genesis?"

"I'm also clairvoyant, or to put it in simpler terms, I have the ability to communicate through minds." Antauri said while placing a hand on his chest, "But you already know this. I'm also a proficient practitioner of telekinesis." He explained as Jinmay re-entered the room carrying a tray stacked with sandwiches.

"Sorry for the wait.," she said setting down the tray on the floor. "This is all I could make on such short notice."

"I'm sure it will be one of the best meal I've ever had." Gidget said smiling up at Jinmay and grabbing one off the top of the pile. She quickly ate it, then another, and finally then another. "Sorry for my rudeness," She apologized as she wiped the crumbs from her mouth. "But I haven't really ate anything in a while, truth be told, I can't actually remember the last time I ate something." her face reddened a bit as she looked over at Genesis happily eating her own sandwich and she leaned over to ruffle the bow on her head. Her sister playfully glared at her as she straightened out her bow and Gidget continued. "Besides, these are the best sandwiches I ever remember eating."

Jinmay smiled and sat down beside Chiro. "I'm glad to know that, but exactly how many sandwiches do you remember eating?" Gidget glanced up at the ceiling as she counted on her fingers.

"Three." She finally said as everyone had a good laugh. When they had finally stopped, Gidget asked. "So no one else has any powers?"

"Well," Chiro said stretching out his arms and placing them behind his head. "We all can use the Power Primate, but that's really it for our non-physical attacks. Hey, I actually bet you could to."

Gidget looked at Geni confused before turning to the rest of the team. "What's a 'Power Primate'?"

"I consider it the force inside us from which we have gained our ability to reason and think." Gibson answered for himself. "Basically, I think it is what we get our intelligence from."

"No," Nova said while shaking her head. "It's definitively what gives us our strength."

"Well if you ask me, it's our personalities." Sparx added.

"I guess you could say we really don't know that much about it." Chiro said simply.

"And it can be interpreted many different ways by many different people." Antauri added while looking over the team. "It leads us all down our own path, if you will." Antauri conclude. Gidget nodded slowly before finally responding.

"I don't get it." She said with a head shake and a look over at Genesis to see if she was getting any of this, but the small monkey seemed to be writing a response at this point or taking notes in her notebook, which Gidget couldn't blame her for, this was a lot to take in.

Otto finally spoke up while smiling broadly. "Okay, okay I can explain this one." He leaned forward and looked Gidget directly in the eye. "You know when you have that craving for your favorite food, and you know there is just _one_ way you absolutely love it but that there is also no way you are going to get it anytime soon?" Everyone stared at Otto dumbfounded. What in the world was he talking about? But he happily ignored the confused looks and kept smiling. "But suddenly, someone shows up and just happens to have it and they give it to you. And you see, you really like this person and it just makes you feel so great that they let you have it because they care about you too, that you actually give it back to them because you know they love it just as much as you do? That's what the Power Primate is."

The entire team looked at Otto confused and amazed, that made no sense at all! Gibson smacked his own head with is palm in astonishment. Surely Otto couldn't have even understood a thing that he just said, let alone Gidget. That explanation made no sense! And even more incredibly, Gidget was nodding her head along with him.

"Oh," Gidget said simply, "that's what you guys are talkin' about. Why didn't you just start off by saying that?"

Gibson brought both his hands up to his head this time. She actually understood that? That babbling of incoherent nonsense, she actually understood what the Power Primate was from that? And to top it off, Genesis was sitting there scribbling away at her notebook like this was a completely normal conversation. _Oh great, we got another unintelligible buffoon to deal with, _thought Gibson miserably.

Genesis handed her notebook to Gidget after she was done writing and indicated that she needed to read it out loud. "Geni says that the best way to describe things to me is through food metaphors, I seem to understand those the best." Gidget explained after reading over the note. "My mind just works better when it is put it in delicious terms."

"We'll try to remember that." Chiro said giving an odd look the rest of the team.

"So then if that is this Power Primate thing, what are your physical attacks you were talking about?" Gidget asked looking around at the team. Nova stood up with a smile and stepped forward, now this was her time to shine.

"Let me, as the battle coordinator for the team handle this one." She grinning devilishly. "Let me show you how us who are not inclined to mysterious magic powers from the great beyond handle things around here." She held out her arms and her hands transformed into her giant fists-of-fury. She smiled while flexing a bit before showing off some of her moves. "Lady Tomahawk!" she yelled bringing her fist down on the floor of the room. Everyone scrambled to gather their balance as shock-waves shook the room, but Sparx was first on his feet with a wicked grin of his own.

"Oh, yeah?" Sparx said while transforming his own hands. "Let me _shock_ ya with my moves." He chuckled at his own joke while Nova groaned loudly and rolled her eyes at the obvious and terrible pun.

"Magna-Tingler Blast!" Spars yelled as Electric orbs shot out of his weapons and across the room.

Gibson cleared his throat and stood up while transforming his weapons. "Spin Shocker!" He yelled as electric-like darts shot out of his drills and hitting the wall on the far side of the room. "Humph." He grunted satisfied while blowing the smoke off the end of his drill dramatically. "And that is just one of my many different types of ammunition." He stated with pride. "You might even find some of my other ammunition to be _quite...cool." _Gibson snickered at his own joke while everyone else rolled their eyes but Gidget and Geni just exchanged a confused glance.

Antauri stood up next, indicating he wanted to showcase his powers now by transforming his hands into his claw transformers. He closed his eyes and turned an odd purple color before phasing through the floor. Genesis and Gidget blinked in surprise and searched the room, expecting him to pop-out at any time.

"Where did he go?" Gidget finally asked as he reappeared above them and silently descended behind the two girls.

"More to us than meets the eye, isn't there?" he said with a slight grin on his face as both girls whirled around to face him.

Otto jumped up and down excitedly yelling, "I wanna go next!" before running to the opposite side of the room away from everyone else and readying himself. He stood with his head down and eyes closed until he suddenly looked up and transformed his hands into his energy saws. He stood his ground, readying himself before shouting, "Scritch Scratch Doom!" and bringing his hands all the way behind his head and finishing with a triumphant "THROWER!" as he let his saws fly. They sailed through the air in perfect crossing arcs, and then coming back to his hands perfectly.

Everyone's mouths practically dropped, never had Otto put so much spirit into his attacks, and he had out-shined everyone. Gidget clapped excitability while Genesis stood slightly behind her warily eying Otto's sharp blades but clapping non-the-less.

"Otto that was Amazing!" Gidget yelled happily, "I wish could do something that cool!"

"Don't you have transformers?" Otto asked tilting his head cutely. "Gibson said that when he scanned you, your arms were hallow like ours to make room for weapons." Gidget shrugged her shoulders but maintained a big smile on her face.

"That would be so cool if I did!" She yelled happily while jumping up and down. "Let me try and see if I can do anything like that." She ran a little distance away from everyone else and readied herself as she held her arms straight out in front of her. After concentrating for a moment, she managed to morph them into large gun barrels. "Too cool!" she cheered while jumping up and down. "I'm gonna call them...Giga Gun Blasters!" She yelled happily while hopping from foot to foot.

"Whoa," Sparx said awestruck. "She's packin' heat." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder as he looked back at the rest of the team as everyone made their way over to her to inspect her guns.

"Giga Gun Blaster?" Gibson asked skeptically, shaking his head. "That's one of the most ridcul-"

"Coolest names I've ever heard!" Otto interrupted excitedly. "I wish I had thought of a cool name like that."

"Thanks," Gidget said blushing a bit and pulling her arms behind her back while transforming them back into her hands. "I don't know if they were called that originally, but it seemed to fit with everyone else's weapons."

Gibson shook his head again at the name but said nothing more on the subject of names. "Well then," He said "I suppose you really are one of the Alchemist's robot monkeys."

"Who?" Gidget asked confused yet again and looking down at Genesis. "I don't think I know that name."

"It's the name of the man who created us." Nova said sadly, "He's... not with us anymore." Gidget nodded and guessed that was the only thing that needed to be said on the subject. Everyone grew silent for a minute before Chiro broke the growing awkwardness.

"Well, I guess we should go talk to the rest of our allies and um-" how was he going to explain this? "Introduce them to you two I guess." He shrugged.

"Okay," Gidget said as they followed the team outside. "Do you think we could get more sandwiches before we go though?"

* * *

Alright we come to the end of Ch. 2! Now you know Gidget and Genesis. Are they hiding something or are they really as clueless as they seem? I'm not gonna tell you now! You have to keep reading to find out! Tell me what you think of them, I wanna know. Sorry if Otto's description of Gidget seems stupid or sappy, I just wanted to get the point across. (_By bashing you all over the head of it repeatedly, though I did try and fix this up a bit so the romantic undertones were actually, you know undertones? I mean it's still pretty obvious that they like each other from the beginning, but it's not like true wube at first sight now.)_

Leave reviews! They help me get better and make me work faster!

(_So yeah this chapter took a while to fix cause it was really kinda terrible. Genesis was like a picture perfect mary sue (and still kinda is) and I felt like I was trying to beat you guys over the head with the couples I support. I mean it got worse in the next few chapters but I tried to fix it so hopefully its a bit more subtle than it previously was.)__  
_


	3. Ch 3 Allies

**Warning! Contains extreme butchering of names!**

_(Now slightly less extreme butchering than you might be lead to believe from that bold text. Mostly I just stopped spelling them phonically with hyphens and everything and actually tried to make them look like real names.)_

* * *

As the team left the super robot, they were rushed by a mob of relieved, happy and mostly confused people.

"What in the world happened?"

"Why is he retreating?"

"What was in the ship?"

They all crowded around and waited expectantly for an answer. Chiro held up his hands and waited till every one calmed down before starting. He looked at their allies, all past friends who they had called in favors to help them, creatures of all different shapes, sizes and species. Maybe Antauri was on to something when he said that even though they did not have the numbers of the Skeleton Army, they did have more of a drive. Being able to gather all these people was no small feat, and there were still more allies on their way. Chiro knew a few, like Slingshot, who were still trying to make their way to Shuggazoom after all. Finally he managed to get everyone to calm down enough to speak over them and he put on his best, commanding voice.

"Listen up everyone, a small space ship entered Shuggazoom's gravitational field at 06:00 hours this morning. It crashed over the enemy lines and managed to obliterated half of their forces, thus causing the enemy to retreat." A cheer went up through the crowd, there was a conglomerate of congratulations all around.

"Yeah! We made them turn tail and run!" Morbius Quint, the greatest human pilot in the universe, yelled. Chiro remained calm and raised his hands again, waiting for everyone to calm back down.

"Is there something wrong Chiro?" Nikita, a feline ally of the Cathurian species, asked. She held her hands to her chest and looked up at him with her eyes sparkling. Chiro saw Jinmay glare at him out of the corner of his eye and he smiled uneasily at her and quickly looked back at the crowd, sweating slightly now. _In the middle of a war and girls are fighting over me, great._

"Don't celebrate just yet, we didn't do anything to make him run and he will return and we must stay on our guard." Everyone groaned, looking slightly disappointing but not overly surprised."The battle was won, but the war still continues. But with our forces, our friends banding together we will prove to be an unstoppable force unlike the that which the universe has ever seen before. We have some of the greatest masters of many different fields standing here today and with them we can win this war. We will fight till we have defeated the Skeleton King once and for all and we will survive!" A wild cheer went up through the crowd and Chiro smiled, letting them enjoy this moment and gaining confidence from it. "And the reason we were able to win today, is standing right here beside me." He waved his hand behind him, gesturing back towards Gidget and Genesis who were hiding behind the team. "Everyone this Gidget and Genesis. They were the ones inside the space ship that crashed this morning." Cheering rose to almost unbearable levels, as everyone cheered for the new monkeys. Gidget smiled uneasily and waved nervously while Genesis hid behind her sister's leg, only catching glimpses of the crowd.

"Who was steering that thing?" Johnny Sunspot yelled as a cheer of agreement rose up behind him.

Gidget blushed and waved her hand uneasily again, "Th-that w-would be me. It was an accident to tell you the truth."

"I wish I could have accidents like that!" Quint yelled from his place in the crowd, causing them to laugh raucously and roar in approval before breaking out into shouts of "Gidget! Gidget!" Their cheering began turning Gidget's face the same shade of red as Sparx's fur. She glanced nervously at Chiro, asking him what to do with her eyes.

"Just smile and wave." Chiro whispered to her and she uneasily took his advice looking nervous the whole time.

"I don't think I'm use to crowds." Gidget leaned over and said quietly to Otto.

"It's okay, you'll get use to it." Otto said with a smile and thumbs up. "And you're not alone, both me and the team is here with you. No monkey team member is ever alone."

Gidget quickly averted her gaze and shook her head. "I'm not a monkey team member, I'm just a big sister." She said as she hugged Genesis tightly and looked away.

"Well," Chiro finally said gathering the army's attention once more, "The Skeleton King will have to regroup, so tomorrow we will continue to go over the plan, making sure everyone understands it so we can strike him when when he is down. But tonight you are all off duty, we all deserve a break. Enjoy each other's company, enjoy the hospitality of Shuggazoom and come two days from now ready to fight and win." The crowd gave one last bellow of approval before starting to depart, no doubt going to celebrate today's victory, if you wanted to call it that.

A few of the allies walked towards the team, Nikita in particular grabbed Gidget's hand and looked at her like an idol. "Oh thank you, small purple monkey, for coming to our rescue. I am Nikita, and this is my brother, Tikudo. You have become the savior of the Hyper Force and just as they saved the Cathurians and are in our debt eternally, so are you." Gidget chuckled uneasily and managed to wiggle her hands out of Nikita's death grip.

"I don't know about all that..." Gidget stated uneasily while rubbing the back of her head. "But I sure am glad that I hit them and not you guys."

"Of course you hit them," Tikudo said while crossing his arms in front of his chest, "it was the will of the gods. The Cathurians will always be in your gratitude." Gidget blushed and shook her head.

"Oh no, I don't deserve all that praise." Gidget said shaking her head quickly and looking down.

"Yeah," Sparx said protectively throwing his arm around her shoulders. "You're embarrassing the poor kid, give her a break and don't idolize her till she can repeat her good luck."

"Well, embarrassed or not, you still are quite the miracle." Master Offay said leaning towards the purple monkey in what she realized was a bow. Gidget just shook her head quickly again.

"I'm no miracle guys, just a monkey." She shrugged her shoulders while trying to back away slowly from the crowd.

Antauri looked at her with little expression before turning to look at the rest of the team, "Well then, let's show Gidget and Genesis the rest of Shuggazoom City." Everyone agreed and started to walk towards the City in jolly spirits. Gidget began to slightly shake and Genesis looked up at her worriedly. She looked down at her sister and managed a small smile while sending a thought.

_I'm okay. _She said simply. _I just don't want to tell them I have no intention to help them win this war of theirs._

* * *

Maybe Gidget's not the savior everyone's looking for, we'll just have to keep reading the learn why.

Well this is the end of Ch. 3, it's a lot shorter than the rest of the chapters, I might start to make them this length and get them out more quickly. I don't know you guys tell me, which would you prefer? Longer chapters in like a week or two period or short ones every week? I don't know how long it will take me to write the following chapters, so it might be what ever mood I'm in that day to help decide how I want to write the chapters.

Well that's all for this week, See you next time!

(_I still really like the idea that Gidget initially didn't want to help the team any more than she already had, it seemed more realistic that way like come on if you just happened to crash land on a planet you had never been too and some people were trying to get you to join in this war you knew nothing about, would you just cause you thought they were nice people? I kinda wish I had made the idea last longer than 2 whole chapters but that would mean rewriting a whole lot more of this story than I already have, so we'll leave it where it is.)_


	4. Ch 4 Staying In

So here's Ch. 4, I'm just so excited to get this out here! I hope you like it and remember, give me feed back it makes me work faster! If you don't leave comments I might disappeared for a couple of months! ;) _(That moment when this was no longer a joke and you replace "months" with " over a year". Ha ha.)_

Tell me anything! Do you like the characters? Do you like how I write? TELL ME SOMETHING! If I am to get better then you have to tell me I'm bad! _(Like how horrible that grammar was. Ugh.)_

* * *

Gidget smiled and looked up at the team as they started to walk towards the city. "You know guys we've really had kinda long day, and if it's all right with you, I think me and Geni will just stay here for the night." Otto's normally happy faced dropped into a look of pure, brokenhearted despair.

"You don't want to go with us to see the city?" he asked in a little voice, flaunting his biggest puppy dog eyes.

Gidget smiled sweetly. "Oh no, Otto I do, it's just..." she bit her lip briefly before continuing. "It's just Geni is so tired and if she doesn't go to sleep soon she will be cranky all day tomorrow." Gidget squeezed Geni close to her side as her sister gave a quick glare up at Gidget, and started to yawn. "If you guys could just show us where we can sleep…"

Otto sighed dejectedly. "Fine if you're not going then I don't want to go either, I just really wanted to go to introduce you guys to all our friends." Gidget looked sadly at Otto.

"No, no you guys go on." Gidget quickly countered while waving the team away. "I don't want to make you all miss out on the fun, me and Geni are literally just beat."

Chiro smiled as he spoke to the team while leading the girls back inside the Super Robot. "You know what guys, it's okay. I'll stay here too so Otto can have someone to talk to."

"We all will." Nova said while crossing her arms. "We don't all need to be out there celebrating when we haven't even done anything yet, this war is far from over." She looked back over her shoulder as she spoke to see if anyone would question her, but Sparx just shrugged and as everyone mumbled something about certainly not going by themselves. Chiro led the team back into the Super Robot after they said good-bye to their allies and then showed Gidget and Geni the way to the sleeping quarters.

"I'm really sorry that I made you guys miss out on all the fun," Gidget said as she picked up her sister and carried her through the Robot, "but Geni is really tired." As if on cue, Geni yawned again and snuggled into her sister's shoulder as they walked down the hall.

"It's o.k. Meteor," Sparx said "you've both had a big day. Besides you have to take care of the little Princess here." He gently laid his hand on Gidget's back and Nova felt a familiar pang of jealousy arise in her.

_She just trying to get you guys out of the robot. _Her mind whispered quietly, as she tried to mentally wave the voice away. She was just feeling jealous because Gidget was another female monkey and after years being the only girl for so long, it was weird suddenly having another around. _Or she's bad news, don't trust her…_the voice whispered again as Nova shook her head in defiance. But for some reason she still couldn't shake the feeling that not all was as it seemed with the new girls.

They arrived at the only spare room in the robot and opened the door, causing cobwebs to dislodged and float slowly to the ground. The room was completely bare except for the pipes jutting from the ceiling and a single sleep capsule in the room. The fine layer of dust that settled on everything told the observant that this room had not been used in a while.

"Sorry we only have one extra bed," Chiro said as he flipped on the light and tried clean up a bit. "We never expected to have extra monkeys over."

Gidget shook her head and smiled. "It's okay. Truth be told we really don't need two of those sleep tubie things. I hate small spaces, I'm a bit claustrophobic and if I had to sleep in that thing I would have heart attack." She nodded towards the capsule.

"Well what kind of sleeping quarters do you want then?" Gibson inquired as Gidget grinned widely and asked one question.

"Do you guys have any cargo net?"

.::~::.

Jinmay volunteered to go get the net out of the cargo bay and Chiro piped up that he would go with her, he wanted to talk to her in private after all. Chiro felt like she was mad at him for something, but he really couldn't figure out why yet, though he did have a guess. After they had walked down the hall in silence for a few minutes, he attempted to break the ice.

"So what do you think Gidget wants with the net?" He asked to no avail, Jinmay simply kept on walking. Chiro sighed quickly before just trying the direct approach. "Is there something wrong?" He asked simply.

"You sure do have a lot of girl fans." Jinmay said with a quick look back at him before she started to walk faster. Chiro blinked a moment in surprise before jogging to catch up to her.

"Is that what you're mad about?" Chiro questioned her as he ran up beside his girlfriend. "Jinmay come on, trust me they don't mean a thing to-"

"I'm not worried about them meaning anything to you." She snapped with a sudden glare. "Why would you assume I thought they _meant_ something more to you than allies?"

Chiro sighed as he ran his hands quickly through his hair. "Then I don't get why you are upset by them."

"I'm upset because you didn't tell me about them." Jinmay snapped while turning around to face him.

"That's it?" Chiro asked in disbelief as Jinmay groaned loudly before turned around and walking away again.

"Is that it?" she echoed angrily while throwing her hands in the air. "Chiro, you have an entire army of women-"

"I wouldn't say 'entire army'-" Chiro interrupted, but that hardly fazed Jinmay while she was in full-blown rant stage.

"-out there who are willing to die for you-"

"They're doing to for the team-"

"- and all you can say is 'that's it?' Chiro do you have any idea how that makes me feel knowing that all these girl care that much for you?" Jinmay finally stopped walking away from him and turned to face him. They were both almost screaming now and Chiro finally noticed Jinmay had tears in the corners of her eyes. "Jeez," she sighed while rubbing her face with her hand, "do you even care how seeing all those girls _throw_ themselves at you makes me feel-" Chiro stopped her mid sentence by sweeping her into his arms and planting a kiss firmly on her lips. After a few seconds of silence he stood backed and looked her directly in the eye.

"Hey now, if I knew that it would bother you this much I would have told you." He pulled her close and hugged her. "It's not that I was hiding them from you, it's just that they obviously didn't mean enough to me to tell you about them." Jinmay sniffed while gently shaking her head.

"No you told me about them," she stated while wiping the tears from her eyes. "You just never told me to what extent they idolized you. I mean come on, no girlfriend wants to hear about how their boyfriend is the 'savior' of all these other girls-"

"Hey," he spoke gently while interrupting her. "I mean it, they mean nothing to me. You save a girl once and they automatically want you to marry them, that's one of the disadvantages to being a superhero." He said with a shrug as Jinmay chuckled lightly. "Honestly I would done the same thing if they were men so that's hardly why I save people. I mean that's what heroes are supposed to do, defeat the corrupt bad guys, rescue damsels in distress, it's not my fault that this is just one of the many burdens of being one of the good guys."

"You honestly want me to believe you consider girls flocking to you a 'burden' of saving the universe?" Jinmay raised her eyebrows. "Nice try."

Chiro laughed loudly. "Okay, maybe it's not a complete disadvantage, but I mean that's how we met." He kissed her lightly on the forehead before bringing her closer to him. "But I am being completely, honestly serious when I say that you're the only girl for me."

Jinmay snorted and placed her head on his shoulder. "Goof-ball." She said softly while lingering in his embrace a moment longer. "All right, let's go get that net, everyone is probably wondering what's taking us so long." They smiled at each other before continuing to walk down the hallway, now hand-in-hand, to the cargo hold.

.::~::.

Nova was pacing around her room mumbling to herself when she heard the knock on her door. After deciding not to join in the festivities, everyone had kinda gone their own ways, only Genesis, Gidget, Otto, and Antauri stayed in the room to wait for Chiro and Jinmay to return. Gibson said he had some tests to run before tomorrow, he was still trying to help Captain Shuggazoom regain consciousness since the poor guy hadn't woken up yet, and Sparx said he had wanted to practice his aim for tomorrow while Chiro and Jinmay went to get the net and hopeful talk, Nova thought to herself. Nova could tell Jinmay had wanted to talk with Chiro, probably about his girls' problems', as Jinmay put it. And speaking of people with relationship problems…

She collapsed on her bed and tried to sort out her own thoughts on Sparx. I mean jeez, just a few days ago she had told him she loved him.

_I thought you said 'you only cared for him.' _The voice who she was really starting to get tired of hearing spoke up, and yes she had said that but after Gidget came… Ugh! Why did everything come back to that new purple primate. Nova had previously had no intention of going away with Sparx after the war before _she_ came, but now… now she was really considering it. And was it simply that she was just jealous of Gidget, or was there something else off about her? Nova didn't think she could trust Gidget for some reason, but she couldn't put her finger on why, something just felt _wrong_ about her suddenly showing up.

_Or maybe you really are just jealous of her, did you ever consider that? She is taking an awful lot of Sparx's attention away from you... _Nova grabbed a pillow off her bed and slammed it against her face in frustration before jumping back up and pacing the room until the knock came.

"Come in." She called as she walked around the room. Sparx walked in and she felt her heart rate begin to pick up speed, though she couldn't figure out for the life of her why.

"Hey, beautiful." He smirked while leaning against the wall and simultaneously causing her face to redden with anger. She _hated_ when he called her stuff like that.

"What do you want Sparx?" She snapped while sitting down on her bed. "I'm tired and unless you have something important you wanna say, get out."

"Actually, I do." he said, pushing himself off the wall. Nova gulped thinking he was gonna bring up leaving again, but his next question caught her off guard. "What do you think of Gidget?"

Nova sighed and laid back down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know, to be completely honest, but I kinfa feel like something might off about her." _Yeah, that and I practically hate her guts and she hasn't been here for a day yet._

"Oh," Sparx said while slowly nodding. "I guess you could say it that way." Nova leaned up on her elbows and looked at him.

"What would you say about her?" She asked while arching her eyebrows.

"Well I don't know, I guess I really just think she's pretty similar to Otto is all." Sparx replied with a shrug while Nova sat up again and looked at Sparx interestingly.

"Really? Where did you get that from?" Nova couldn't see the similarities at all, except that the two of them seemed to have their own sort of language and an obsessive love for food.

"Oh Gibson's noticed it too, I talked to him before I came to you." Sparx explained while taking a step closer to her. "We both think it's actually kinda frightening how similar they are."

Nova just shrugged while laying back down and looking at the ceiling "Well I personally don't see it at all."

"How can you not? They're both mechanics who have a similar thinking process, they're both kinda odd if not straight out crazy, they are kinda spacey, and they both get pretty dang excited about the weirdest stuff. They're _creepy_ similar." Sparx twiddled his fingers for emphasis as Nova thought about it a little more. Okay so maybe Sparx and Gibson were on to something and they were really similar, except for the fact that Nova loved Otto and hated Gidget.

"Yeah, I still don't really see it." Nova sat up and stretched her arms above her head. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"I don't know." Sparx said while looking down at his feet. "Just wanted to see if you noticed it, I guess." They sat in silence for a few awkward seconds before Sparx spoke again. "Nova…" He focused intently on his feet as Nova swore his cheeks actually grew even pinker.

"Yeah Sparx?" She took a deep breath, this was the conversation she had been waiting for, so why wasn't she excited?

"You know that thing I asked you about right before Gidget crashed here?" He finally looked her in the eyes and she was sure he was blushing now.

"Yeah. What about it?" She could feel her heart beating faster as she leaned forward slightly.

"I just wanted to let you know that it was a joke."

Nova stared blankly at Sparx as he twiddled his fingers in front of his chest, waiting a response. "...What?" she finally managed to get out.

"It was a joke, I was kidding around." Sparx replied as he started to crack a grin. "Got you good, huh?"

Nova blinked a few times processing what he had just said. She was gonna kill him.

"Sparx you stuck-up, idiotic, piece of scrap metal!" She screeched at him as she jumped off her bed and stomped towards him, her fists already transformed. Sparx did one of his devilish smiles while winking.

"Why? Come on what's wrong Babe, you didn't really think I was being serious, did you?" He backed out of the room and Nova stood just inside to the threshold, glaring. "Yeah the Kid dared me to do something crazy before the battle and that's what I decided to do. "Sure got you, huh?" He smiled nervously while cringing, he fully expected her to knock him through the wall for this. She looked like she was going to explode, he had done stuff like this before, but never to this extent, never something _this...cruel._ She started to say something, but then just slammed the door in his face without a word instead. Well, she slammed it about as much as you could slam an automatic door. Nova let out one anguished scream of anger before punching her door with fist, denting it significantly. She pulled her fist back to hit again, but just flexed her hand a few times instead before transforming her weapons back to their normal form. She grabbed her head while leaning against the door before sliding down to the ground and bringing her knees up to her chest, but she didn't cry, she refused to cry. _I hate him I hate him I hate him!_ She screamed at herself. _But I won't waste my tears on him._

Sparx turned around and went to his room closing the door quietly behind him. He threw his hands up in frustration and grabbed his own head while yelling _You idiot! You idiot! Why the heck did you do that for?! Idiot! _over and over to himself_. _He finally sat down and leaned his back up against the wall while pulling his knees up close to his chest and just sat there with his arms wrapped around him. He did this every time, Why was he so afraid to start a relationship with her? It wasn't because of Gidget, was it? No she was cute, and she was obviously a natural behind the wheel even if she didn't want to admit to, but he didn't love her, definitely nowhere near how much he loved Nova.

_You do this every time, you selfish jerk._ He thought hatefully to himself. Y_ou'll be lucky if she ever speaks to you again!_

"Good." He suddenly whispered out loud. "I would just end up hurting her again if we got into a relationship anyways. I'm helping her in the long run." He made a fist and punched the ground in anger once while cursing himself out in his head. "She'll thank me one day for this, even if I end up hating myself for the rest of my life, at least she'll be happy."

**.::~::.  
**

Chiro and Jinmay walked into room just as Otto was telling an enthralled Gidget and Geni, "And then this huge tentacle monster with ginormous teeth started to attack us..." Chiro and Jinmay exchanged a glance before looking to Antauri for an explanation.

"Bedtime stories." Antauri explained from the spot where he was leaning against the wall. Gidget was sitting on the edge of Geni's bed, Geni had the cover pulled up to her neck, both were watching Otto with big eyes.

Otto turned around and smiled. "Hey Chiro, hey Jinmay! you guys got the net?" They held it up between the two of them.

Gidget lightly touched Otto's arm. "What happened next?" She blushed quickly before adding, "G-Geni really wants to know."

Otto smiled at her. "I'll tell you the rest tomorrow."

"What exactly are you planning to do with this?" Chiro asked while handing the net to Gidget. She just smiled in return before scanning the ceiling for a second and spotting what she wanted. She jumped onto a pipe and tied her side up while tossing the other end down to Otto.

"Care to give a lady a hand with the other side?" She asked with a grin while securing her own side.

"Sure." Otto said as he jumped up on another pipe and made sure to tie the other end up tightly. They both jumped off after they were done to survey their work.

"There," Gidget said dusting off her hands and throwing them up like a show girl displaying a new car. "I call it; The Insta-bed!"

"That doesn't look very comfortable." Chiro stated while looking at it from the underside.

"Oh it is!" Gidget explained while jumping up on it and relaxing. "It's like sleeping on a cloud, and I don't feel confided at all." Chiro just nodded, while he got where she was coming from, he would still prefer his good old bed any day. "Well if you guys don't mind, I got to put Genesis to bed." Gidget said while sitting back up and jumping off the hammock. She then looked down nervously while playing with her tail. "She likes it when I sing her to sleep." She blushed profusely.

Otto tilted his head to the side, "We can't listen?" He asked genuinely.

Gidget turned an even darker shade of red, and shook her head furiously, "No way. I'm not even that good of a singer."

"Come on team," Antauri said while leading the team out the door, "Let us leave Gidget and Genesis to get some well deserved rest, as we should do ourselves. If you should need anything else, do not hesitate to ask, Gidget."

The team said their goodbyes and lingered behind just long enough to hear Gidget start to singing softly. It wasn't bad, not the best voice they had ever heard, but not bad.

"I'm still bummed out that Gidget didn't want to go to the city with us." Otto said sadly while kicking at the floor. "There was so much I wanted to show her, like Hover-burgers and milk shakes and stuff."

"It's okay Otto," Chiro said patting his back gently and leading him down the hall, "How about we play some video games till we want to go to sleep tonight." Otto perked up at that prospect and smiled widely.

"Okay! Let's play a racing game!" He cheered as he and Chiro ran towards the main room, Jinmay and Antauri lagged behind for a moment.

"Do you not wish to join them?" He asked Jinmay as she shook her head and response.

" No, I think I'm gonna talk with Nova for a little bit before heading home." Antauri nodded in reply as she walked towards Nova's room. "Good night, Antauri."

"Good night, Jinmay." He called after her as she turned the corner heading to Nova's room. Antauri lingered in the hall way a moment longer before turning around and walking back towards Gidget's room. He settled on standing just to the left of the doorway, waiting patiently for her to walk out like he suspected she would. She emerged a few minutes later with her head down, not even noticing Antauri standing beside the doorway. She rubbed her face with her hands as he spoke. "You do not look that tired if you were to question me." She shot her head up, finally seeing him and managing to smile weakly.

"No, I guess I don't." She said with a shrug. "What can I do for you Antauri? I was just gonna go to the restroom real quick, but if you wanna scan my brain to see if _you_ can gather anymore information about me and Genesis, be my guest" She smiled, trying to make it a joke but Antauri solemnly shook his head.

"No I will not be attempting to read anyone else's minds for a while, with or without their permission." Gidget's smile dropped as he spoke. "How about instead, you tell me why you really didn't want to go to the city."

She clinched her fist and turned her head down. "I think you already know that, even without reading my mind. You seem very observant, Antauri."

Antauri shook his head, "I could not read it even if I wished, your mind is like a maze, at every turn another mental mind block appears, making it impossible to navigate." He took a more authoritative stance while crossing his arms in front of his chest. "The emotions you display are just as vague and confusing as your memories. While I can tell there is another motive to your hesitation, I do not know what that motive is."

Gidget stared intently at the floor before speaking. "Sometimes you have to keep you mind completely blocked off just to make your private thoughts yours."

"Who are you trying to keep out?" Antauri asked while taking a small step closer to her.

Gidget shook her head, "I don't know, but every time I try to think of them…" she shivered, grabbing her arms and absent-mindedly rubbing them. "I **can't **even think of them. My mind's wall keeps pushing me back from discovering things I want to know. Or at least I think I want to know them, maybe it's doing me a favor by keeping me out."

"Is it?" he raised an eyebrow while looking Gidget directly in the face. "Is keeping yourself from remembering your past saving you or are you simply delaying the inevitable?"

"The inevitable what?" Gidget suddenly snapped before backing down meekly. "Sorry."

"You are forgiven." he said simply. "And you are delaying something that you cannot stop, Gidget."

"Which is?" She asked with more control this time.

"Your past." Antauri asked while locking eyes with her. "You cannot out run it forever, Gidget, especially if it is chasing after you. For the safety of my team, my family, I have to know if you are dragging more demons into this war." He spoke seriously not harshly, but what he said next cut her like a knife. "And if not for their sakes then your own and your sister's."

"Are you questioning my motives?" Gidget snapped back while inching closer, "Or my ability to take care of my sister?" She locked eyes with Antauri, standing her ground, but Antauri just stood there with his arms crossed, not saying anything. "Because I promise you, I am not intentionally trying to cause harm to your family, just as I am not trying to harm my own. As for my past, if it is as horrible as I think it is by the indication of thepure amount of effort I have obviously put in to forget about it, then maybe I have every right to want to get as far away from it as I can and continue to try to put as much distance between me and Geni and that...place."

She was at a loss for words to describe it, so she simply let out an exasperated sigh while pacing around. "And trust me, the moment we can find away off this planet, me and Geni will be out of your hair." She glanced at Antauri's smooth metal skin. "No, pun intended. I have no intention of helping you fight this war, I have my own family to think about and you do too. If you are really worried about anything that might be following us, then I suggest you help us leave as quickly as possible, then we can both get back to fighting our own demons without having to worry about anymore showing up."

Gidget finally stopped long enough to catch her breath after her harsh rant. She sighed again, this time more sad than upset, and rubbed a hand over her face and her broken spike. Finally she looked back up at the silver simian standing silently still and looking back at her, she wrapped her arms around her chest. "You don't believe me? You don't think I'm telling the truth,?" she questioned him while taking a few steps closer. "Or do you simply not trust me?" Again, nothing from the silent simian. Gidget just shook her head and uttered something that was not quite a laugh, it sounded much to cruel and shaky to be a laugh. "Go ahead, I don't care. I know the other girl, Nova right? I know she doesn't like or trust me either. Obviously people around here have enough faith in you to not worrying about hiding their thoughts."

Antauri finally adjusted himself and looked at Gidget. "They do not hide their thoughts from me because they do not need to. And I don't know what I think about you yet Gidget, but I do know now why you did not want to see the citizens of Shuggazoom. You are afraid, for her." He nodded towards the room holding the sleeping Genesis.

Gidget tensed up for a second and then relaxed while looking away and hiding her face from view. "Like I said, this isn't my war. I don't own you anything, apparently I did you guys a huge favor without even realizing it. I have to protect her, I'm all she has and I don't want to fight in this war for you. Not when it means she could lose me, or worse."

Antauri nodded like he expected all this. "I do not know your true intentions, I do not know where you are from, why you are running, or who could be chasing you, but I can tell this much: " He walked towards Gidget and placed his hand on her shoulder gently and realized how badly she was shaking.

"I can tell you have a good heart, Gidget, you and Genesis both, and if you saw our people, if you saw what we are fighting for, you would want to fight too." She started to shake even harder as Antauri gently turned her to face him, her tears spilling down her cheeks. "I know you fear for your own safety and that of your sister's and I understand, because I fear it too. Not just for you or my team, but for all of Shuggazoom, all the universe." Gidget gently shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I can't let anything happen to her, and I can't let anything happen to me because of her. Who would take care of her if I was gone?" Gidget looked up into Antauri's eyes with sorrow in her own. He slowly shook his head in response.

"I will not say that no one is asking you to fight, because that would not be the truth, that is exactly what we are asking of you. But I promise that if you really wish to leave, to not get involved any more than you have, no one will make you fight in our war." In a surprising act of compassion, he gently placed his hand under Gidget's chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "But it is not because we simply want you to fight, that we have invited you to stay here, nor why I questioned you on who might be chasing you.

"We were being truthful when we said we know of no other robot monkeys in the universe, and if you are truly one of our creator's then you are family to us. If you wished, you and Genesis would be allowed to stay here with us, to join us in protecting the universe and ensuring the prevalence of Good in the world. In addition to that," He paused to allow Gidget to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Do you honestly believe we would simply abandon Genesis if something were to happened to you?" Gidget tried to shake her head, but she was shivering to hard."I am not forcing you to make your decision now, you may have all the time you need to decide what you want to do next, but I do need to know that if you wish to stay here, with us, if there could be others that arrive for you and Genesis."

Gidget violently shook her head. "I really don't know if there is, honestly there could be I suppose, but I really don't know." She sighed again before breaking out into a fit of violent shivering again. "I'm just scared…" She spoke in a tiny voice. "I saw your allies, they're not all from Shuggazoom, and anyone you have to get that many people to help you defeat, has to be bad news. I'm afraid I'm about to get into a fight that we can't win, and I don't want Genesis anywhere near here when you are defeated. I'm sorry if I doubt in your power, but I've yet to see you guys in action."

"It's completely natural to be scared," Antauri said reasonably, "Like I said, we will not make you fight if you do not want to, but there is no way for us to let you leave during this war, we simply do not have the resources available now. If you wish to leave when we are able to provide you with a way to escape, or if we are able to fix your craft, you are more than welcome to leave the moment that became available to you." He turned away from Gidget and started to walk back towards his room.

"But we could use every able hand we have to defeat him. The chances are slim but the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go live on small probabilities. And we tend to survive on them, at the very least you can wait until the morning to give me your final decision if you have made it then, however I would suggest at least 'seeing us in action' as you put it before making your final decision. I would not run away from a chance to have a safe home just yet, if I had to make the choice." He finished what he had to say, and gave a short bow before turning the corner to go to his room. Leaving Gidget to stand there by herself to think.

* * *

OOH... we're learning more and more about Gidget and Genesis everyday! Do you guys like how I'm presenting the characters? I'm trying my best not to have any Mary-Sues in my story, am I doing good? (_No, no I was not, even trying to fix it now there is no way to get around how ridiculously powerful Genesis is and she still has yet another power to be revealed. I guess it's okay cause she's really not suppose to be a main character in this book but bluh. I suppose that comes from her never really having a point in the story when I first though of this about 7 years ago, and having to make up her personality as I wrote this. Needless to say she was a pretty poorly developed character when I started, but I'm trying to make her better the second time around, hope I'm succeeding.)_

Tell me what you think. I need to know! At least take my poll to tell me what you think about Gidget. (_Except har-har, it's been closed for two years now so just say it in the reviews I suppose.)_

Well kiddies, I'm going to bed, nighty-night!


	5. Ch 5 Tour

Here's Ch. 5, I really need to get a set day of the week to release new chapters..._(Ahahahaahhahaha releasing a chapter a week, good one old me.)_ oh, well. This one I actually really like (_Not anymore though)_, we learn a lot more about Gidget and Genesis, and yes, there is extreme Spova in this one.I still like though and I need reviews! Tell me what you think of the story, characters, you're favorite color!I don't care tell me something. I like to know my readers aren't robots.

Oh, well no more blabbing, on with the story!

_(Actually a bit more blabbing, see cause this is where the story is really gonna start changing from how I originally wrote it. I mean this chapter alone is now 4,000 words longer than the original, not to mention some scenes have been moved around and changed while also adding a longer time frame in between events. Whole conversations have been added, and several key scenes changed. Technically, you don't need to re-read any of this to understand what is going on in the new chapters, but it is a lot better written now; better paced, more focus on stuff that matters and more focus on the actual cast and not just my OCs along with more foreshadowing to things down the line and better characterization of my characters. Basically this is the story that I should written in the first place, but became too impatient with to actually sit down and complete like it should have been. Hopefully this means I won't have to come back to these chapters ever again though and I can be happy with the product I put out. Anyways, enjoy this newly revamped chapter, I know I do a whole lot more now.)_

* * *

"He did what?" Jinmay asked amazed after Nova got done retelling the previous events of the day. "He couldn't have really meant it."

Nova sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs, "If he didn't mean why did he say it?" she snapped back while looking down at the ground.

"He's done stuff like this before though, right?" Jinmay asked while sitting down on the ground so Nova would stop trying to avoid her eyes. "What about the time Antauri was taken by that crazy computer? Sparx was about to confess to you then and chickened out. How do you know it's not just something like that again?"

"That was before he knew I liked him though," Nova countered while throwing her hands up in exasperation. "And now he knows that I feel something for him and he still pulled that crap!" Nova punched her bed to emphasize her point and then just sighed. "I just don't get it."

"Well, maybe he just doesn't realize you like him as much as you do." Jinmay stammered out, trying to come up with excuses in her head. "Maybe he thinks that you just like him as a brother or something and I mean _I'm _not sure I know how much you like him to be honest, maybe he thinks he misinterpreted your words and overreacted to them."

"I blame her." Nova snapped, fire burning in her eyes. "I bet it has something to do what that stupid purple monkey."

"Who, Gidget? Why would he do it because of her?" Jinmay asked perplexed while standing up to sit down beside Nova.

"Because she's another female monkey who's nice to him and is funny, and _apparently_ she's the best pilot ever." Nova mocked while putting her head down on her knees, she hated Gidget, and she hated that she hated her. It wasn't her fault about what happen with Sparx, Nova knew she was just looking for someone to put the blame on. God, this was so stupid, Nova knew she shouldn't be getting worked up when Jinmay had made a very valid point, that she really didn't know how she felt about Sparx, but at that moment it didn't matter because she just wanted someone to blame, someone to hate.

While Nova thought over this Jinmay was simply glad Nova's head was down, she couldn't help but smile at the idea that Sparx liked Gidget. "Nova, Sparx might _like_ Gidget but he doesn't even _know_ her yet, I mean we just met them today, no one is falling in love that fast." Jinmay took this time to guide Nova's face up to meet her gaze. "Especially not Sparx who I know loves you. Everyone can see it, trust me." She leaned down and hugged her friend.

Nova hesitated a moment before returning the hug. "Thanks Jinmay, I guess you're right, on more than one account. I guess I shouldn't get mad at Sparx for acting like that when I haven't exactly been that clear with my own intentions and feelings, probably cause I really don't know what to think about all this." Nova sighed heavily while flopping back on her bed and throwing her arms over her face. "I mean sure I care for Sparx but I don't know if I want a relationship with the guy, especially if he's gonna keep acting like a complete jerk to me every time we start to get close."

Jinmay nodded in agreement but remained quiet, allowing Nova to vent her thoughts. "Like you said, he's done this stuff before but never in a way that was this...hateful." She sat back up to look at her humanoid friend. "I think that's what grinds my gears the most, I mean if he had just said "Sorry Nova I want to retract my offer, sorry for the inconvenience" or "I don't actually think I'm ready for this" or basically any way other than the way he did it, I wouldn't have gotten so mad. Maybe I would still be angry at him for a little bit but I wouldn't hate him like I do right now." She laid back down and sighed. "And I wouldn't be looking to blame other people for things that he does of his own free will."

Jinmay laid a reassuring hand on Nova's shoulder while speaking. "Listen Nova, just take a break tonight from thinking about it, get some rest and wait till he comes and apologizes to you, cause I know he will. Don't tear yourself apart just cause some guy is being a jerk to you." Jinmay pulled Nova in for a strong hug. "And regardless of whatever happens between you and Sparx know that there will always be people like me around who love you just the same." Nova smiled and didn't hesitate to return the hug this time.

"Thanks Jinmay and the same goes to you, don't ever let anything Chiro does get you down." She made a regular fist with one hand and punched it into her palm. "And remember I'm always around to set anyone straight who even thinks of hurting you." Both girls broke down into a fit of giggles that continued for a long time before tapering off slowly. Jinmay suddenly decided to bring the topic back to something serious.

"So let's say Sparx did apologize for his behavior, then what? How do you think you would feel about him then?" She rolled over on her side and waited for Nova to answer. The yellow simian thought about for a minute before answering.

"To be honest, I think I might like him Jinmay, a lot actually." Jinmay started to crack a smile before she realized that Nova was not and stopped. "But there is a whole lot of things holding me back from really deciding if I do or not. I mean I know we're all not likely to forget this anytime soon but he did hurt me pretty bad a few days ago when he was consumed by the Object of Hate, and regardless of whether or not he was acting as himself when he did that, it scared me." Nova pushed herself into a sitting position before continuing. "I might have forgiven him for it, but I don't know if I feel safe around him yet, Jinmay. It's not even that I'm worried he would do it again, cause I'm really not, it's just now there are a lot of bad feelings and emotions associated with him that I can't seem to shake every time around him. I can't be in a relationship with someone that I can't stand to be in a room with alone for more than a few minutes because I'm afraid."

Nova ran a hand over her face before continuing "And it's not like we're gonna have a conversation about what happened anytime soon, we don't have time for it right now and no one wants to stand up and say 'hey guys we need to talk about this'. I certainly don't, not before we all have to go out there and fight as a team, no need to bring up unpleasant feelings right before a big battle when everyone needs to be focused."

"Maybe we should though." Jinmay finally spoke up. "I mean, if you aren't feeling safe around Sparx then I'm sure there are other people who aren't yet either, not trusting each other is really gonna be detrimental to team morale and your ability to work together out there on the battle field." Nova nodded in agreement but looked away again.

"You're probably right again but I still don't see it happening anytime soon, we have way too much on our plate right now, the arrival of Gidget and Genesis being just one of those things." Nova sighed again while scratching the back of her head and sending a quick glare at Jinmay. "And no I do not wanna talk about why I don't like her and yes there is more of a reason behind it than I'm simply jealous. Something doesn't seem right about her to me, I just can't put my finger on it."

"Really?" Jinmay asked while sitting up. "I don't see what-" Nova put a hand up to stop her.

"Yeah yeah I know, everyone else likes them and all that jazz, I just feel like they are hiding something from us and I don't trust 'em yet is all."

Jinmay nodded with understanding. "Well yeah we just met them, no one is asking you to put your full trust in them or anything." She reached out and placed a hand on Nova's shoulder again. "But I don't think they are bad people, more weary and hungry than threatening or conniving. Just...try and give them a chance I guess?" She asked with a restrained smile.

Nova nodded slowly but didn't return the smile. "At the very least I can take your advice and save worrying about it till tomorrow." They both nodded, leaving the conversation at that.

.::~::.

The following morning, the two leaders were up early checking surveillance of the perimeter of the city. So far they had not seen any sign of Skeleton King or his army and while it relieved them to prolong fighting a few hours longer, it also unsettled them.

"We have seen nothing yet of his forces this morning, he probably will use today to rebuild some of his forces." Antauri commented as Chiro received confirmation from all the squad leaders that all was quiet on the Western front.

"I'd have to agree with you there Antauri." Chiro said while shaking his head. "And that does not spell good news for us." He paused while placing a hand on his chin and thinking over it for a moment. "I suppose all we can do is go out and try to keep the morale up for the city while keeping an eye out for any signs of an attack." As they spoke, Gibson walked in flipping between a few charts on a clip board. All three exchanged greetings. "Hey Gibson, how's Captain Shuggazoom?"

Gibson, just shook his head while sighing. "He's not getting worse, but it will be awhile before he regains consciousness again. I can't seem to get through to him in this coma he's in, I can only hope he will continue to heal normally and he might wake up soon." Chiro visibly flinched a this but quickly regained his composure and nodded for Gibson to continue. "There is still so much I want to ask him about the Alchemist, and maybe even see if he knows anything about Gidget and Genesis. " Sparx walked during the middle of the conversation, noticed what they were talking about and quickly slapped Gibson on the back in greeting.

"Hey Brain-Strain, how's it hanging?" He asked cheerfully with a devilish grin. "Not boring the Kid and Antauri this early in the morning are you?" he asked playfully. "Surely you can think of something happier to talk our ears off about."

"Sparx, must you insist of calling me that insufferable nickname of yours?" Gibson asked while rubbing one temple.

"Yep." He replied with a shrug and a wink at Chiro. "Tell 'em Kid."

"It's true Gibson," Chiro said. "He has to call you that, just like he has to call me Kid."

Gibson sighed heavily and rubbed both temples with his hands. "Well it drives me to the end of my circuits, could you please resist the temptation from now on?"

Sparx sighed dramatically. "I'll try Brain-Strain but no promises, it's just so hilarious to see you get so upset over this, that it's hard to resist." As Sparx teased Gibson, Gidget and Genesis walked into the room, both greeting everyone with a smile.

"Good morning everyone." She said while drawing closer to the team, Genesis trailing close behind her. "Any sign of that army I crashed into yesterday? I figured they're gonna still be pretty sore about that and want to talk to me about how much I'll have to pay to make up for the collateral damage I caused." She smiled as Genesis rolled her eyes at the odd attempt at humor and the boys just tilted their heads in confusion.

"No, it seems like he might not make an appearance today." Antauri answered her while Otto happily hopped into the room.

"Oh hey cool, almost everyone is already up!" Otto exclaimed while walking over to the group. "You guys ready for breakfast yet?"

"I am!" Chiro, Sparx and Gidget all answered in unison before breaking out into laughter. Otto nodded and turned around to head to the kitchen and make breakfast while the rest of the team tried to form a game plan for the day. Gidget watched him walk away for a moment before excusing herself from the group and asking Antauri to respond for Geni in case she had anything to say. She quickly followed Otto into the kitchen and called out to him.

"Hey Otto?" She asked as Otto turned around and displaying a smile that almost touched his ear receptors. "Got a minute?"

"Yup I sure do!" he answered happily while pulling ingredients out of the fridge. "What do you need?"

"Well If you're still up for it and we don't get attacked today, we can go on that tour you promised me yesterday. I-if you want that is." She stammered out, blushing a little bit. Otto's eyes lit up like ten tons of fireworks.

"You mean it!?" he asked while she nodded her head in reply. "You bet I do!" He started to jump up and down excitedly and pulled Gidget into a hug and bounced around the room holding her. "Can everyone else come?" He asked happily as Gidget shrugged her shoulders with a grin.

"The more the merrier I say." She smiled while Otto quickly sat her back down and ran out of the room to tell the rest of the team.

"You guys gonna come with me and Gidget into the city?" Otto asked as he skidded to a hault by everyone else.

"Right now?" Chiro asked while Otto happily nodded. "What about breakfast?" Otto's face dropped a moment while he thought about it before he smiled again and snapped his fingers.

"We can go out to eat! Come guys it will be really fun!" He cheered while Sparx and Chiro agreed to come along but Gibson just shook his head.

"No, sorry can't come. I have to much work to get done here." He returned to his charts and turned to leave when Sparx pulled him back by this shoulders.

"Aww, come on Gibson have a little fun." Sparx said wrapping his arm around Gibson's shoulders. "He's coming." Gibson tried to decline but Otto had already hopped off when he noticed Nova and Jinmay walking into the room while laughing.

"Are you guys coming with us on the tour?" He asked mere inches from Nova's snout.

"The what?" Nova asked while trying to act like she wasn't bothered by Sparx being there, she wasn't gonna let him ruin the good mood she has woken up in. "Otto, what are you talking about?"

"I changed my mind, I really do want to see your guys' city. It was rude of me to say no before." Gidget quickly explained while walking up beside Otto. "So I told Otto I wanted to go again and he suggested we all go out for breakfast and see the city."

Nova started to reply no, but when Jinmay quickly slapped her hand over her mouth and answered for both of them, "Of course we would!" Then quietly to Nova after Otto and Gidget had walked away, "Besides this is your chance to confront Sparx about yesterday." Nova crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Jinmay but said nothing.

Antauri cleared his throat to catch Otto's attention before answering. "Someone needs to stay here and keep monitoring the city in case of attack. I volunteer since I do not need edible subsistence to survive." He gave Gidget and knowing look while Geni tugged at her leg and tapped her throat.

"Geni doesn't want to go either." Gidget translated quickly. "You sure?" She confirmed while Genesis nodded in agreement. "Yeah she really doesn't care for crowds and people fawning over her while asking her why she doesn't speak." Gidget faced Antauri next. "If it's alright with you Antauri, Geni would just like to stay here and doodle in her note-book, or read."

He nodded and smiled while bowing. "It would be my pleasure to stay here and keep the young miss Genesis company."

"Thank you Antauri." Gidget said returning the bow, "That means a lot to me and her." Genesis nodded in agreement while leaving to go get her bag from her and Gidget's room.

Otto cheered while grabbed Gidget's hand and pulling her towards the exit, "Well come on then guys! We're wasting day light here chatting it up, we have so much to see today and so much more to eat!" And with that he pulled Gidget out of the room with the rest of the tour group following close behind.

**.::~::.  
**

"So that's why you guys are so desperate to defeat the Skeleton King." Gidget said over Hover Burgers later that night. They had had an exciting day of Otto pointing out all the useless landmarks of Shuggazoom while retelling accounts of the team's adventures. After a long day and a few stories, they finally sat down for dinner just as the sun was starting to set. Skeleton King had not tried and formed an attack on the city all day, which was a relief to the Resistance Force, as the Hyper Force and their allies had taken to calling themselves. While they were enjoying the small break from fighting, they were still being cautious and remained alert that the Skeleton King could attack at any moment, but they would enjoy the peace while they could. "He seems like a pretty bad guy." Gidget continued, taking a bite of her burger after she spoke.

"Pretty bad guy?" Nova echoed while leaning on the table with one elbow. "Do you even understand half the stuff he's done to us? He's tried to kill, maim, enslave, destroy, and take us apart piece by piece! And all you can say is 'he seems pretty bad'? I don't think you quite get it yet." Nova sighed and sat back down in her seat. She really shouldn't take her anger out on Gidget, it was Sparx she was mad at after all. She hadn't confronted him about yesterday yet, but he hadn't jumped up to tell her why he had behaved that way either, in fact he had been completely ignoring her all day. He had just talked about how he was going to give Gidget flying lessons, and teach her some tricks while Gidget had just laughed, Nova doubted she even got the joke Sparx was trying to make.

"Hey ease up there, Nova," Jinmay scowled her. "She wasn't there, she doesn't know all the stuff that's happened to us."

"No, it's my fault," Gidget said quickly while smiling apologetically to Nova. "I guess it was a pretty dumb thing to say." She playfully tapped herself on the head and stuck out her tongue. "I guess I don't really think before I speak things sometimes."

"I don't think you do." Otto spoke out with his mouth full. "I think you talk like me."

"That's part of the problem, Otto." Gibson said rolling his eyes. "You're a horrible influence on her, before long she'll start naming the monsters silly names like you do."

"You mean like the Big Gooeyies I crashed into earlier?" Gidget asked while taking a sip of her drink.

"Aw Great Scott! She's already started it!" Gibson slapped his forehead, and slammed his head down on the table in exasperation. Gidget took another bite of her burger before leaning down towards him.

"Aww, it's o.k Gibby, one day you'll think of cool names too." Gidget said while patting Gibson's head reassuringly. Everyone laughed at Gibson's expense while he lifted his head and glared at her.

"It's Gibson, not Gibby." He snapped while Gidget simply shrugged.

"I think Gibby sounds better. It's a cuter name if you ask me."

"Well that's all fine and good, but I don't care if it is 'cute'. Could you _please _not call me that again." He stuck his nose up a little. "It's undignified."

"Aww, come on Gibson. If I can't call you Brain-Strain, then at least let her call you Gibby. It has a nicer ring to it anyways." Sparx playfully suggested which made Gibson turn his glare to him.

"Why can't you simply just call me Gibson? It's not too much to ask." The blue monkey countered while rolling his eyes.

"Because." Sparx explained. "Chiro's Kid, Otto's Mech-head, Gidget's Crash, and you're Gibby. It's just the way it goes." Gibson threw his hands up in defeat, slamming his head against the table again while Chiro raised an eyebrow at Sparx.

"I thought my name was 'Meteor'?" Gidget said from a mouth full of food.

"Yeah, and when did I become 'Mech-head'?" Otto asked moving on to his fries.

"Since forever! I've always called you Mech-head and Crash." Sparx said crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back in his seat with a smirk. Everyone exchanged a glance as Sparx precariously balanced his chair on two legs and Nova's tail accidentally wrapped around it and tipped his chair over. He fell onto the floor with a thump as Nova leaned over to looked at him.

"Looks like you're Crash now." She stated sarcastically as everyone bursted out into laughter. Gidget leaned back over to Gibson, who still had his head down.

"It's okay," Gidget said while Sparx picked himself back up off the ground, "I'll only call you Gibby for special occasions."

"Wonderful." the muffled reply came.

"Still, I'll do what I can to help you guys defeat this Skeleton guy. Well, as long as it doesn't endanger Geni." Gidget said turning her attention back to the rest of the team. She watched as some kids ran past the group laughing. Chiro followed her gaze and noticed that only one of the kids was a Shuggazoom native, the other two were Cathuryains. He smiled, quite a bit proud at how open and receptive the City of Shuggazoom was being to all the team's different allies. He was originally worried they would be nervous having so many new species on the planet but it seemed to him that everyone was getting along great, which was good since he knew of quite a few people who are more than a bit interested in moving to Shuggazoom permanently.

"You really care for her, huh?" Chiro asked finally turning his attention back to their news ally. "Have you guys always been so close?"

Gidget just shrugged. "Yeah I think so I mean, she's my little sister, I would give my life for her."

"It's a sister thing." Jinmay clarified as she smiled at Nova. "We watch out for each other." She winked at her yellow friend who returned a glare.

"Yeah but even sisters fight sometimes." Nova commented while looking back at Jinmay, she was mad at her for making her come.

"So can you guys tell me more about the guy who made us? What was his name? The Chemist?" Gidget changed the subject while scratching her head with her tail.

"The Alchemist." Gibson corrected, finally sitting up. "He's the one who gave us our robotic bodies and weapons."

"The thing I don't get is why he would want to make cyborg monkeys in the first place." Gidget said taking a drink of her soda and looking around at the team. "It's kinda a weird thing to think of when you decide to make super heroes."

"Well, he wanted to help protect the city, don't really know why he choose monkeys though." Otto shrugged. "But he did it to protect the city because he becoming the Skeleton King and all." Gidget managed to spewed soda from her mouth before she clamped her hand over it and accidentally hit everyone around the circumference of the table.

"You've seemed to have forgotten that important fact!" Gidget said staring at Otto in disbelief. "You mean the guy we're fighting is the same one who invented us?"

"Yes," Gibson said wiping soda off of his fur with a napkin. "One of the reasons he made us cybernetic was because he was turning evil and possibly immortal." He glanced quickly around the table. "We don't really have the full story on what happened to him yet or why he used monkeys as test subjects. That's just one of the reason I'm working so hard to awaken Captain Shuggazoom, there is just still so much we don't know and understand about ourselves and who we are fighting. All we know is that the Alchemist becoming the Skeleton King somehow involved interactions with the Netherworld."

"Yeah, but you can thank Mandarin for that." Nova said slamming her fist down on the table hard enough to make the rest of the drinks wobble. "That no good son-of-a… Argh! It makes me furious just thinking about him!" _There is someone you can hate more than Gidget _she thought to herself.

"He wasn't always like that you know…" Otto said quietly while he looked down at his hands and sighed.

"You mean the orange monkey who betrayed you?" Gidget asked for confirmation.

Otto knew Mandarin was fully evil now, he was just a clone of the monkey they once knew.

"Yeah the jerk has been trying to turn us all into instruments for evil since the beginning," Sparx said with a huff, "He's almost succeeded a few times too." Sparx looked away from the rest of the team and remained fairly solemn for the rest of the meal.

But Otto still hated when people talked about him like that. Otto had been his closest friend, even when Mandarin was mean, he still stood by him. For better, or for worst. There had been a lot of bad times near the end, Mandarin had even hurt Otto a few times pretty badly. Most he had hidden the wounds, kept quiet about it, but finally the team saw them and that was the final straw. In a way, it was Otto's fault Mandarin was sent away, it was his fault he lost his best friend forever, or closest ally as Mandarin put it. He finally looked back up and saw Gidget staring intently at him. She had her brow furrowed and she locked her lilac eyes with his black ones. _He was that special to you, huh? _She asked telepathically.

Otto started to open his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it. _Yes, he was. _

Gidget nodded slightly in response, _I know how you feel. _She looked back to the rest of the team before giving Otto one quick, last look. _When you're sorta like the team's doctor, you can replace all the metal with no one noticing all the nicks and cuts, can't you? _

Otto stared at her in open shock, she had gotten it perfectly right. He questioned himself on how she could know so much as the conversation moved on to more pleasant topics.

.::~::.

Antauri snapped his eyes open when he felt her staring at him. Genesis was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and her notepad sitting on her lap. She looked at him as she sat down her pencil and held her notepad up the read, she hardly seem alarmed or even fazed by the fact there was a floating silver monkey in front of her.

_What are you doing?_ She had written neatly on the paper. Antauri pushed the notepad back down and tapped his temple with his middle and index finger.

_I am meditating. _Antauri answered without opening his mouth. Genesis nodded in response as she looked back over her shoulder towards the exit.

_Do you think Gidget's decided to help you guys yet?_ She asked suddenly while turning back to face Antauri._ I figure she had to since she wanted to see the city now._

This time Antauri just nodded and closed his eyes again. _I hope so, I think she will prove to be a valuable asset in helping us. I believe something lead you two here for that specific purpose, in fact. _Genesis simply nodded in response even though Antauri could no longer see her and started to pick up her pencil so she could continue doodling. She placed it back down as she looked up to Antauri again.

_What exactly is the point of mediation? _She asked while tilting her head to the side.

_It helps calm the soul and clear the mind. It takes hours of silence and calm to accomplish. When you're clairvoyant, it also helps quiet all the other voices in your head. Does Gidget ever meditate to escape the voices? _

Genesis thought about for a second, and then smiled and shook her head, Gidget couldn't sit still long enough to meditate, she was to fidgety. Antauri noticed this came more as small bursts of memories, not as an actual sentence.

_Do you often talk to Gidget like this? _He asked, Genesis nodded quickly.

_She understands me just fine when I do. I don't even have to talk to her much any more, she just knows what I want to say just by looking at me. After being my translator for so long, I barely have to think about it anymore. _

Antauri stared at her seriously for a minute, "You shouldn't stop thinking for yourself just because you lack the ability to speak. Without your mind, without your own thoughts, you lose your humanity; yourself."

_When the only primate who understands you knows you like a book, you don't have a reason to really think anymore._ Genesis countered with a shrug.

"I don't know you at all though," Antauri said with a smile. "you can talk to me." Genesis smiled back at him and hopped up off the floor and walked towards him.

_Can you teach me how to meditate like that? _She asked while sitting back down in front of him. Antauri smile and nodded while levitating down to Genesis' level.

"First you must clear every thing from your mind…"

.::~::.

The team was making their way back to the super robot as the sun set on the city. Parents were calling their children in for dinner as only a few people remained on the street.

"If we continue with the strategy that we were going to use this morning, then we don't have to worry about making a new plan, we just have to explain it to Gidget and Genesis." Gibson was explaining as they all walked back towards their own home.

"They could help me in the control room." Jinmay suggested while smiling at Gidget. "I could always use another set of hands to send out messages containing tactics and battle formations to the squads." She explained to the purple monkey. "Geni could even help if she wanted to, she wouldn't be in any danger safe in the control room with us."

"That's fine with me." Gidget said nodding and smiling, "But tell me about this whole plan thing later, I wanna have fun for now."

"There is no time for fun." Gibson snapped quickly, "We have no time to waste when we need to teach you how to use the computer-," Gidget stared at him with a 'really?' look before she rolled her eyes and looked back at Otto mischievously.

"Hey Otto?" She asked sweetly, swinging slightly side-to-side.

"Yeah?" His asked cautiously, starting to take a step back.

"Guess what," Gidget said smiling at him with a 100 watts smile. "You're IT!" She yelled tagging him square on the chest before running away. Otto and everyone else blinked in shock for minute.

"What the-?" Nova asked tilting her head as Otto quickly turned to her.

"You're it!" Otto yelled tagging Nova before he ran too.

"Oh no I'm not!" She replied hitting Jinmay.

"Chiro your turn!" She yelled tapping him on the arm.

He turned slowly on Gibson, an evil look in his eye and smile.

"Ohh, Gibby~!" He said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh no, I will not have any part of this!" Gibson yelled shaking his head and backing away from Chiro. Everyone started to gather around him.

"Come on Gibson," Otto said. "Have a little fun."

"Yeah, have fun with us!" Gidget chimed in.

"Join us! Join us!" Everyone chanted together, closing in on Gibson. They all lunged at him at the same time, but Gibson jumped straight in the air and did a comical in place run, before jolting away from them.

"Gibson come back!" Otto and Gidget yelled in unison, chasing after him with Chiro and Jinmay hot on their heels. Nova collapsed on the ground laughing as Sparx walked up behind her, chuckling to himself.

"Even if you don't like her, you still have to admit that she's a nice addition to the team." Sparx mentioned to Nova as he held out his hand to help her up, which she completely ignored. She stood up on her own, dusting herself off and looked him straight in the eye.

"I'm still mad at you." Nova said turning quickly from him. He sighed and looked back towards the others, who were laughing and playing in the distance, looking up just as Otto and Gidget tackled Gibson to the ground.

"Look, can I tell you something?" Sparx asked as he watched as Chiro and Jinmay joined the dog pile.

"Every time you say that I get madder and madder at you." Nova crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

"Yeah I know, but I'm gonna be honest this time."

"So you've been lying to me every other time you said that?" Nova snapped, her patience quickly draining away.

"Not exactly." Sparx explained while rubbing the back of his head. "I was being truthful the first time, I really meant it and I still do. I want you to come with me when I leave Shuggazoom. Look I'm sorry about last night, I think I got nervous and freaked out over nothing and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness or even if you want to give it." He looked her straight in the eye and she felt all her anger start to melted away, just leaving a warm feeling in its place. "But to be honest, I don't think we'll be getting out of this war any time soon." He looked back towards the rest of the team. "I really shouldn't have asked you that before the battle, it was a scummy thing to do, but I just got this felling like I was going to die, and I guess…" He bit his lip trying to think of what he wanted to say. "I guess I wanted you to know how I really felt in case anything happened to me, and not chicken out this time like I've done before. Which then I went back and tried to chicken out again anyways so sorry again."

"Sparx…" Nova started to say. Looking at him, she felt herself start to shaking all over.

"But listen," He said taking her hands in his. "I really need to tell you this and if you want to hit me, or yell at me after it you can, just let me finish." He took a deep breath. "I don't think we need to have a relationship right now, not with everything going on now. It's not that I don't like you, cause I do, oh man I really do, but cause of everything else I don't wanna be worrying about you even more than I already will be." He finally stopped and cringed back waiting for the blow. After a few seconds of nothing, he opened his eyes cautiously again. Nova was just standing there looking at the ground. Sparx realized he was still holding her hands in his and that she was visibly shaking.

He started to speak, but Nova quickly and violently clamped one hand over his mouth while flexing her hand into a fist then out of one over and over. He closes his eyes again, awaiting the blow and received a quick slap across his arm. Nova let her hand fall and Sparx went to rub his arm absent-mindedly. It had hurt but not as near bad as he expected it to and nowhere near as hard as Nova could have hit him.

"I understand." She said finally, getting her rage under control enough to speak. "We don't need to get distracted with the battle coming up." Sparx smiled uneasily. She understood what he was trying to say, so why did he feel so disappointed? His smile broadened and he nodded but stopped once he realized that she was not going to return his smile. "But listen here SPRX-77, what you did last night, pulling that scrap like you did, you're right. I shouldn't forgive you for that." She snapped and Sparx nodded in agreement, he honestly kinda expected this. "You can't just keep dragging me around like this!" Nova continued, not really angry anymore but needing to let it out. "It sucks to keep being told 'oh I like you' and then having you keep turning around and saying the opposite. It's really not helping me learn to trust you again after the whole Hate thing Sparx."

He dropped his gaze as he realized that she was still hurt by that, and there was nothing he could do about it. "I'm sorry Nova, for everything." He finally managed to say. "I'll try to be a better friend to you for now on. Sorry again." he managed to mumble out before turning around to walk away. He could hit himself for being so stupid and selfish! He was a jerk of the lowest form and-

"But," Nova said softly, bringing him out of his own thoughts. Nova suddenly stepped forward and their lips touched for just a moment. He wasn't even sure what had happened until she started to pull away. "Ask me that same question when all this is over, when the fighting is done and you've earned my trust back." She said quickly before walked past him, with her head down to hide the fact that her face was almost the same color as Sparx's.

He stood there for a second, not sure what to say to that, and instead he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to him. He hugged her close and whispered to her. "Thank you so much Nova. I know it will take a lot to get you to forgive me, but thank you for at least giving me the chance to." He looked at her, smiling widely, and then quickly planted a kiss on the crest of her forehead before pulling her into another hug. Stunned for a moment, Nova finally wrapped her arms around his stomach and returned it.

He was the one to pull away first this time. "You bet I'll ask again." He said smiling at her. Nova just closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. Whatever happened after this, she would always remember this moment as one of the good ones. Unbeknown to her, Sparx felt the same way. "Besides, it was my turn to kiss you." He said, almost ruining to moment. Almost.

* * *

So once again we come to the end of the chapter. Yeah, I know cheesy and over used Spova moment, but even as I wrote it, I thought that it was just too sweet and cute to give up, so you have to suffer through it. _(I actually made the moment a lot less fluffy this time around, cause like I said it was cheesy and over used when I wrote it, not to mentioned a bit out of character. It's...better now and I still enjoy the chapter over all but I am glad I dialed back on the romance, I would rather develop it a bit more and make it seem more realistic. I like Sparx and Nova as a couple, I really do but I think its something that has to be handled well or it can turn bad quickly.) _I promise there probably won't be that much lovey-dovey stuff anymore unless you guys want it. Trust me, I can write this so sweet that you all will get diabetes. I'm not joking.

Well, I still have that fancy poll on my profile, so if you haven't voted yet... Yup, that's all for today kiddos, I'll update again sometime this week, or the next. Maybe I'll do a Christmas Special update or something. Also on topic of the **story** if you noticed, no tiny headers in this one. The little titles at the top of each section? Gone, miss them? Tell me, if you want them permanently gone Poof! No more tiny headers, but if you like then they stay. Tell me what you want. _(I actually fazed these out completely cause they were pointless and full of silly names that occasionally referenced much better book titles than this one. _


	6. Ch 6 Training

Hey guys! On with the show!

Sorry no Christmas update, but here you go anyway!

* * *

"Come on Giggles, you can do it." Sparx said to Gidget while placing his hands over hers. "You just have to go slowly."

"Alright," Gidget said taking a deep breath and tightening her grip on the controls before stepping up onto the handle of the Fist Rocket 3.

"It will be fine," Sparx said from behind her, helping her balance on the foot handle. "I trust you not to crash my ride, now you just have to trust the vehicle."

"Yeah, Heart of the machine, right?" She asked giving Sparx a worried smile over her shoulder before turning back around.

_Heart of the Machine? What's that mean? _Sparx thought to himself as Gidget was focusing too much on the task at hand to hear his thought. She left out a shaky breath trying to laugh. She was nervous and sucked in air then let it out again in a rush.

"You know the only time I remember driving a machine like this ended in me crashing it into the ground beyond repair, right?" She glanced back at Sparx nervously but he just nodded his head. "You might want to buckle up for this one, then."

Sparx just smiled and slapped her on the back causing Gidget to almost fall off the handles. "It will be fine, don't worry so much. I'll be right here with you, and can jump in to take care of it if you mess up too bad. Now hold on a minute the computer has to sync up with you." Sparx said as a wire came down from the ceiling and hooked up into the back of Gidget's head. She gasped as it did a quick scan and after a moment the computer screen displayed a "Welcome Gidget" message before the air craft started up.

"Alright, slow and steady Giggles." Sparx coaxed her on as they started to disconnect from the rest of the robot.

"I changed my mind," Gidget said suddenly, panic rising in her voice. "I don't wanna do this anymore." The craft started to jump a little bit as she started to shake nervously.

"It's o.k. Giggles, you're doing fine." Sparx said grabbing onto the computer terminal for support. "Trust me, everyone was a little uneasy when we first started driving. You're doing great, now just pull back on the handles to go up. Slowly." He warned as Gidget slowly pulled back and the air ship tilted backwards, making it face the sky.

"O.k," Sparx said. "Now we just need to punch it."

"Wait we're going to do what!?" Gidget yelled as Sparx slammed his hand against the thruster button and they shot off towards the sky. Gidget screamed as they spiraled into the air, and Sparx just laughed holding onto terminal, trying not get thrown to the back of the Fist Rocket.

"Sparx you jerk!" Gidget yelled as she struggled to gain control of the crazed ship. "You could have killed us!" She used her tail to smack the side of his head.

"Hey, listen." Sparx said holding his arm up to deflect to blows while laughing. "Look you're piloting the ship fine _and_ beating me up at the same time." Gidget stopped and looked, she _was_ driving just fine without any help.

"Whoa, cool." Gidget said testing the controls a little bit, trying to get a feel for the ship. "Hey, this is pretty easy!" She exclaimed, laughing.

"See," Sparx said. "there is reason to my madness." He looked up at Gidget and noticed she wasn't listening. She was looking outside the window, watching to the lights of the city zoom by them. They were so tiny from this height, like the sky was no longer above them, but below them rather. "Beautiful ain't it?" Sparx said gazing out the window. "It makes you feel small, doesn't it?"

"No," Gidget said staring out the window. "That's what we are protecting and _that_ makes me feel big. Like all of their lives rest in my hands, and I can't let them down." Sparx looked at her. She was really serious about helping them, but for some reason it didn't reassure him that she was trying so hard, it kinda worried him actually. He felt the paranoid agent he had been trying to drown for days crawl back into his little nook in Sparx's mind.

"Why are you trying so hard to protect a bunch of people who you don't know?" Sparx asked, but Gidget just shook her head in response.

"I don't know, but it feels like I need to, like it's my responsibility." Gidget looked back out to window. "It is really beautiful though, you are right about that." She looked back and smiled at Sparx. "Do you ever bring Nova up here?" She asked with a grin as Sparx looked at her with his mouth open wide, he had just been thinking about inviting Nova up here one day. Then he remembered Gidget could read minds.

_Gotta get used to that. _He thought to himself.

"You do." Gidget answered, smiling wider. "Sorry I don't mean to pry, but it's just that you guys think so _loud._"

"It's okay, I honestly forgot you could do that. And no, I don't take her up here but I should one day." Sparx said, blushing.

"I didn't know you could get any pinker." Gidget teased while tilting the ship to the left a little.

"I'm not pink, I'm red." Sparx countered with a smirk, then added "You're right though, I think she would really love it up here." Gidget nodded, and then gave him her biggest grin.

"You wanna try to do a nose dive?" She asked with a devilish grin.

"You bet!" Sparx said grabbing on the terminal again. "Let's go." Gidget pushed the handle forward and they dove down swiftly, but this time she was in control. She began to laugh like a maniac and Sparx let out a big whoop of enjoyment.

.::~::.

Nova walked into Otto's workshop and knocked on the door frame to get his attention. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey Nova, what's up?" He asked while taking off his goggles and setting down the equipment he had been working with.

"Nothing, just wanted to talk to you for a minute." She said walking over to him and jumping up to sit on the one clean space of his work table. "You can keep working if you want." He smiled and nodded while putting his goggles back on and getting back to work. "What are you working on?" She asked gently swinging her feet back and forth and leaning over to catch a glimpse of his project.

"Oh I'm just making some new communicators for Gidget and Genesis." He answered with a slight blush while soldering on a small antenna to one of the communicators.

Nova stopped swinging her feet and started to feel annoyance at her name, but quickly smothered it. Gidget wasn't really that bad once she got over her jealousy. In fact, she kinda didn't mind her now. "That's nice of you. Hey what do you think of the new girls anyway?"

"Why does every one keep asking me that? You're like the third person to bring that up to me today" Otto asked while inspecting one of the devices. "I like them fin, I mean they seem really nice, and they fit into the team great, it's like they were always meant to be part of the team."

"Maybe they were." Nova stated while wrinkling her snout. "But if they were meant to be here, what happened to them? Why weren't they here when we were still with Mandarin?" Nova asked.

Otto shrugged and continued, "Me and Gidget are going to try to take apart their space ship and see if we can find out anything about their past. Where they came from, why they left; that sort of thing." Otto stopped and put down his instruments while turning to look at Nova and pulling his goggles down again. "Nova, can I tell you something?"

She straightened up a little. "Of course, what is it?"

"I don't think Gidget and Genesis want to remember their past." Otto said while placing his chin in his hand and leaning on his work table.

"Why not?" Nova questioned, intrigued.

"I think wherever they came from was worst then we can even imagine. I asked Gidget about the chip on her spike, you know the one I thought she had broken during the crash? Anyways, I offered to fix it, and she said that it was like that from before the crash." Nova waited for Otto to go on. "Also, they seem really sensitive to talk about anything that could hint at their past or even make them remember it. I asked Gidget how she knew so much about mechanics and she started to answer but then she got a terrified look on her face, like what ever had happened scared her really badly, then she wouldn't talk about it and changed the subject. Or she looks like she about to answer, but then her face goes blank and she just shakes her head slowly, like she's stopping herself from remembering."

Nova nodded, she had noticed it too. "Do think they're lying about losing their memory?"

Otto shook his head while fiddling with a screw sitting on the desk. "I don't think they're faking, but they really don't want to remember it. Lil' sis gets scared if you just mention something about their past. I actually think she might remember even more than she's even letting Gidget know, but I don't know why."

Nova was all ears. This was more thought out then even one of Sparx conspiracy plans. "Do you think we can trust them?" Nova asked while tilting her head to the side.

Otto thought about for a minute. "Yes, they don't seem bad, just lost and confused. And a whole lot of frightened."

Nova nodded and jumped off the table. "Thanks Otto, I wanted to know what you think about them, you can get back to work now." She started to walk out of the room, when Otto stopped her.

He had grabbed her arm and was looking very intently at her. For a moment she was reminded briefly of Sparx, how could look so serious when he wanted to. That was one of the things she loved about him, but she pushed it away, she was done thinking about Sparx for a while._  
_

"Can you give them a chance?" Otto asked Nova, looking directly into her eyes. Nova shook herself out of her own thoughts and nodded. She would give her a chance this time. Otto smiled and let go of her arm and he stopped looking like Sparx and went back to the crazy, odd, silly little brother that she loved.

"That's great! I want you guys to be friends." Otto said smiling. "And I kinda think that Gidget and Geni need us just as much as we need them. Maybe even more so."

Nova nodded again and left his workshop. She would try to be friends with them, but she would also keep her eye on them, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the purple and brown monkeys.

.::~::.

Gidget carefully docked the Fist Rocket 3 into its place on the super robot.

"Easy now, you're a great pilot but I've seen the way you land. Don't beat my ride up too much." Sparx commented with a grin. Gidget raised her eyebrow at him over her shoulder.

"Ha ha," She said turning back to her controls. "This wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, this must be why you're the best monkey pilot around. That and the fact that I don't know of any other monkey pilots out there." She grinned at him and stuck her tongue out.

"Hey now," Sparx said frowning. "I'm a great pilot!" He crossed his arms and stalked out to the cockpit.

"Hey I just call 'em how I see 'em." Gidget called back before jogging to catch up with him. She put her arms behind her head and copied the mad look on Sparx's face onto hers. Sparx glanced at her, tried to hold it in, but then started laughing. "I'm sure you are the best monkey pilot around." Gidget said with sarcasm dripping off every word.

"Shut it Crash." Sparx said with a grin. "At least I can actually land a ship more than 50% of the time."

"Touché." Gidget said as they walked into the main control room. Nova looked up from the terminal she was working on.

"Oh hey guys, how was the lesson?" She asked in a surprisingly pleasant tone. Gidget and Sparx exchanged a glance. Sudden change of heart? Odd for Nova.

"Fine," Gidget answered while walking towards her. " I learn how the pilot the Fist Rockets and that Sparx's position as 'greatest monkey pilot' is overrated." She finished, plopping down into Otto's bubble chair.

"Of course," Nova said turning back to her work. "How many other monkey pilots do you know?"

"Hey!" Sparx said angrily. He didn't like the girls disliking each other but he liked them ganging up on him even less. "That's not fair, you know I've owned thousands of other pilots in hundreds of races, Nova."

"I do, but she doesn't." Nova said nudging her shoulder towards Gidget. "It's more entertaining to make fun of you than defend you, after all."

"Wait, you have won a lot of races?" Gidget asked intrigued and leaning her elbows on her knees, "When did this happen?"

"Well you see," Sparx explained in a perfect Gibson impression. "To improve our own individual skills, everyone on the team separated for a couple of years to become masters of their… 'elements' if you will." Gidget and Nova snickered and he took this as a sign to continue the rant. "I went to study with one of the greatest pilots in the history of the universe, Nova trained with Master Offay, Antauri went to train with Master Zan in the ways of the Power Primate, Gibson went to study at some geeky university, and Otto-" Gibson chose this time to cleared his throat. Gidget and Nova both busted into fits of laughter, he had been standing there for most of Sparx's over dramatic speech.

"Sparx, I do not sound a thing like that," Gibson huffed, crossing his arms.

"Aw come on Gibson it was a joke." Sparx said opening his arms to his blue brother. "The girls have been making fun of me all night."

"Wonderful, I missed open mic night." Gibson rolled his eyes before crossing the room and looking at the work Nova had gotten done. "Did you finish the battle formations Nova?"

"Yeah, I'm done, they're all there." She said with a gesture towards the screen.

"Excellent, Gidget come here so I can explain the plan to you-" Gibson turned around to see that the purple monkey was already gone, the door closing behind her dust cloud. Sparx and Nova were chuckling behind their hands as Gibson just sighed and shook his head. Why did he even try?

.::~::.

Gidget stopped outside the room she was sharing with Genesis and knocked before walking in. Antauri and Geni were sitting in the same spot they had been when she had gotten back from the tour.

"Hey guys, how's mediation going?" Gidget sat on the end of Geni's bed while Geni gave her a thumbs up and closed her eyes again.

"Fine." Antauri said never even opening his eyes in the first place. "Would you like to join us?"

"No thanks." Gidget shook her head. "I don't really see the fun in sitting on the floor for hours on end, besides I have other things to do." She jumped off the sleep capsule.

"Such as?" Antauri asked as he continued to float in midair.

"Avoid Gibson as long as possible." She said with a smirk before sliding out the door. Gidget smiled to herself and hummed a little tune while walking towards Otto's work shop. She opened the door just as Otto walked out and they bumped into each other, falling to the floor.

"Oh Gidget! I didn't mean to hit you." Otto said rubbing his face

"I doubt you did." Gidget said laughing and rubbing her own face, making her reply sound nasally. Otto blushed and quickly gathered up the devices he had dropped when they had bumped into each other. "What are these?" Gidget asked picking up one of the communicators.

"Gifts for you and Lil' sis." Otto mumbled, turning a light shade red. "They're communicators to help you guys stay in touch with the team in case you guys got lost, or were separated and need one of us." He explained while reaching to take the one Gidget had picked up back.

Gidget looked at them closely. "Where do they go?" She asked.

"Oh let me show you." Otto said gently leaning closer to the audio receptors on the side of her head. He popped one out and she gasped.

"Didn't know they could do that." She said, her face becoming warmer the longer Otto's hand touched her.

"Everyone's can." Otto said adjusting the device in her ear. He quickly soldered it to her circuitry and pulled his hand away. "There, all done."

"Thanks." Gidget said touching the receptor again to close it.

"Let me help you up." Otto said hastily after an awkward moment more of them sitting on the floor.

Gidget giggled. "Such a gentleman." She took his out stretched hand and pulled her to a standing position. They stood there a moment longer holding hands before finally letting go when their ears buzzed with an incoming message.

"Has anyone seen Gidget?" Gibson's voice came through the communication devices.

"Well we know they work now." Gidget said smiling at Otto. "Yeah Gibby, I'm right here." She answered him.

"Will you stop trying to avoid the inevitable lecture I will have to give you and come up here this instant-" Gidget and Otto both shut their lines at the same time and smiled at each other again.

"You wanna go see what he wants?" Otto asked while putting up the communicator meant for Geni.

"I know what he wants, it's just the matter of ignoring him until he comes and drags me up there to listen to the battle plan." Gidget said while rolling her eyes.

Otto nodded and held out his hand to Gidget. "Wanna ditch a little while longer? I know a real great place to get ice cream cones." Gidget looked at him a moment before smiling. She took his hand and they ran towards the city again, laughing.

* * *

Ooooo! Look at me writing up a little chemistry between Otto and Gidget. Sorry, he's like my favorite character and I love him to death.

Anyways, here you go Ch. 6 please leave comments! I want to know what you guys think of the story. Next chapter's a dosey, so hold on untill next week where we learn more about Mandarin. O.o

Ta-ta for now!

_(Yeah I don't really have much to say about this chapter, not much has changed or been added but I expect that to change with the next chapter. Whoo boy am I not looking forward to fixing that one up.)_


	7. Chapter 7

Oh boy this is a long chapter. I don't know how I feel about it, I love some parts of it and hate others. But golly bum this is a long one!

Oh! Also I've started another story called Book 0, it explores the teams past and Chiro's. Go read it! (_Or don't yet that's next on my list of stories that need to be re-rewritten cause I did it terribly the first time around... actually the plot does comes into play in this book near the end so you might want to catch up on it at some poiint, but I will warn you of the bad quality of it.)_

_(Also I forgot to name this chapter when I first put it up and I can't for the life of me remember what I was gonna call it, probably something terrible. So for the sake of nostalgia, you get a chapter that remains unnamed.)  
_

Um a little warning, it gets sappy and a tad bit depressing towards the middle so... disclaimed

* * *

Antauri walked into the Control Room as Gibson shouted in to his headset. "Gidget! Otto! You answer me this instant! I mean it, I am tired of your shenanigans, and you have to learn these battle plans!" Gibson sighed exasperated and took off his head set angrily. "I can't believe her! Does she even realize how important the work we're doing here is?" Gibson asked while rubbing his temples.

"Calm down Gibson," Sparx said leaning against the wall while grinning and continuing. "You might strain you brain if you're not careful." Nova put her hand up to cover up her laughter. She doubted her cracking up would make Gibson feel any better.

Antauri smiled and shook his head. "She understands better than you give her credit for, my old friend. She's just scared is all." Antauri said, with Sparx nodding for emphasis.

"You should have seen her trying to learn to pilot the Fist Rocket 3." Sparx added.

"Besides," Antauri continued while laying a reassuring hand on Gibson. "They do realize how important this plan is and will be back in a few hours."

"He's right you know, there is no need to get your fur ruffled just yet." Chiro said walking into the room. "Besides I think we all need to have a discussion about the girls while they are gone, especially since Otto isn't here. Antauri Genesis is asleep, right?" The silver simian nodded. "Good, now let's talk about the girls. First off, what's you first impression of them? Gibson?"

"I find Gidget to be completely and utterly exasperating." He used one of his hands to rub his face. "Genesis is much more mature than Gidget could ever hope to be and she's suppose to be the younger one. Not to mention, Gidget and Otto are so alike that it's like they are clones, that is exhausting in and of itself."

"I think we've all noticed how similar they are to each other." Chiro said while crossing his arms. "The question is why? Why would they be so similar?"

"Could they be clones?" Nova inquired, looking around at the rest of the team. Gibson shook his head.

"Physically impossible. They would have to be the same gender to be clones. I just compared them to clones."

"Well what if it's just a case of monkey see, monkey do?" Sparx asked while rubbing his chin.

"You mean she's just acting like Otto, all innocent and all stuff just to keep us from being suspicious?" Nova asked while thinking it over herself this time, but Antauri shook his head.

"I might not be able to see her memories, but her intentions are clear." The silver simian said while crossing his hands behind his back. "They truly do want to help us, and they really can't access their past. I think it is more likely that while Gidget has obviously received some training similar to mine in using the Power Primate to read others minds, I do not think she has properly been taught the discipline of how to not be caught up in others emotions. In simpler terms, she might choose one person to attach to and feed off their emotions and behavior without meaning too, and I think this might be the case with Gidget and Otto. Though it is a possibility that she was already very similar to him before ever meeting us and those attributes are more amplified because of being in such close contact with him. So as to whether how Gidget is behaving is just an act, I would say not."

"So we know they want to help us and are being genuine, but we don't know why they are here, where they came from, and we really only have a theory as to why Gidget's so similar to Otto?" Nova counted all the questions on her fingers for emphasis.

"Well Antauri did say that Gidget could have been like this before she came here." Jinmay pointed out and simultaneously reminded everyone she was still there. "She seems goofy like Otto yes, but she's also very observant." Jinmay continued. "Otto barely has enough of an attention span to remember our birthdays, she listened to all of ours stories and was able to pick up on some stuff that we didn't even mention."

"I believe that has to do more with the fact, she can read your minds." Antauri reminded the team. "Speaking of which, I might need to teach you all how to keep your thoughts to yourself." Antauri looked at Nova regarding the last comment, and she turned away embarrassed. "While it has never been an issue before because I was properly trained, Gidget does not yet know how to not listen in to your thoughts. I will have to start teaching you all how to not broadcast your thoughts around all willy-nilly, and Gidget how to not listen in over everyone's private thoughts."

"Still," Jinmay continued, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand, "Gidget seems deeper than she initially looks or acts."

Antauri nodded to this again. "Her memories run too deep for me to read, but one thing almost for sure. We need trust them and make them feel like they belong here, they are our teammates now and we should treat them as such." Everyone nodded to this in agreement before Sparx broke the silence.

"Besides, she's a lot more expressive than Otto, our little buddy practically only has one mood, Happy."

.::~::.

Otto and Gidget were walking through the dark park chatting lightly and happily licking their ice cream cones. Otto had a super double chocolate chip chunk cone, while Gidget had a lime sherbet one the same color as Otto's fur.

"So that's the big plan Gibson wanted me to know? It's not that complicated." Gidget comment, licking her cone happily. "I don't know why he was freaking out about explaining it to me so bad."

"Yeah, Gibson likes to make mountains out of guacamole hills." Otto said, leaning over to taking a bite out of Gidget's cone. She pulled her cone away playfully, sticking her ice cream covered tongue out at him. She smiled evilly and ate her scoop in one bite, causing Otto to smile when the brain freeze hit her. She locked up and shivered all over.

"Oww, maybe that wasn't the best idea…" She rubbed her head and looked up at Otto who was laughing at her. "Hey it's not funny," she laughed herself. "Don't you ever get brain freeze?"

"Yeah," Otto said, "But I like it!" He ate the rest of his ice cream cone in one bite and did an even sillier face than Gidget did. They both laughed loudly for a minute and then continued their walk deeper into the park. As they passed by several couples holding hands and kissing under street lamps, Otto glanced quickly over at Gidget who was looking the other way, enjoying the warm night air. He sighed heavily and looked down at her hand only a few inches away from his, he really wished he had enough courage to reach out and hold her hand, but just shook his head. That wasn't going to happen, girls never fell for him. She started to turn back around and he gave her one of his biggest smiles, a tendency he seemed to have when he felt sad.

"Otto, can I ask you something?" Gidget asked hopping up on a bench and patting the space beside her. They had stopped in front of a tiny pond as it was getting darker. Twilight was all around them, making Gidget's already dark purple fur seem almost black in the approaching darkness.

"Sure thing." Otto said jumping up on the bench beside her. "What's up?" She looked for a moment at Otto with a sad smile before gazing back out over the pond.

"What was Mandarin really like?" She asked quietly, Otto's breath caught in his throat. After a few moments he was able to breathe normally again.

"Why do you want to know that?" He asked sadly as he turned away from her. "You already know what he is like, you heard what everyone had to say about him at dinner."

"I know, but I wanna know what he _was_ like." Gidget looked at him and was actually kinda glad that it was too dark to really see each other's faces. "I also want to know what you think of him, I value what you have to say." She started to blush.

Otto sighed while looking down at his hands. "Do you know why pigs don't fly?" he asked suddenly.

Gidget was caught off guard for a moment but answered honestly. "Because there's no mud in the clouds." Otto nodded at this crazy response, like it was common sense.

"See, you know the answer, but if someone else had heard that, then they would have looked at you like you were crazy, or laughed cause they thought you were joking. Which I mean it is kinda a joke but that's not really the point. You see, Gibson had once asked me the same question a long, long time ago, I think he was trying to be mean to me but I'm not sure, and I gave him the same answer. He yelled at me till his voice was hoarse, then told everyone else about it. They had laughed and just said I was joking, but I wasn't then, I was being serious and gave what I thought was an honest and logical answer.

"All they did was try and tell me all the reasons why that couldn't be the answer. They all tried to get me to change my answer, they had wanted me to give a _normal_ one. But I didn't want to, I liked _my_ answer, not cause it was right but cause it was mine. Well anyways, there was a big fight about it and finally I just ran to my room and sat there alone. No one got me, but no one really tried to either, they just called me silly, stupid, weird; all kinds of names like that." He stopped for a moment and looked at Gidget.

"I know that feeling." She said quietly while holding the end of her tail and waiting for him to continue.

"I didn't fit in with the team. They tried to change me, morph me into what they wanted, they did everything they could think of to make me fit in but the one thing I wanted to them to do; they wouldn't just accept me as me. After that, they all just kinda ignore me." Otto pulled his legs up into the seat with him and wrapped his arms around them. "Everyone except him."

"Mandarin." Gidget whispered slowly starting to understand. Otto nodded in agreement.

"He came to my room one day and looked at me. It was the first time in a long time anyone had looked at me instead of looking down on me. He told me, 'Otto are you just going to sit here in the dark all day, or are you going to actually do something?'. I know it sounds weird, like how would something like that motivated me, but it did. It was his way of saying he didn't care that if I was different or weird, just as long as I did something to help the rest of the team. That's all I wanted from everyone in the first place." Much to Otto's surprise Gidget just nodded. Not too many questions, he liked that about her. She got people like that, and she got him. "I remember I just looked at him for a while." He continued. "No one had asked me to do anything in weeks, they had just assumed that I was to simple to understand, that I wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I asked him what he wanted me to do. He said there were some repairs that needed to be made to the Robot and I was the only one small enough to fit into the places that needed to be fixed."

"Did you fix them?" Gidget asked, smiling to herself.

He looked at Gidget and gave a small wink. "You bet I did! Not only did I fix them, I made them better than before, really managed to improved them! That's when I figured out I was really good a fixing things up. After that I became the team's mechanic, everyone just got used to how odd I was and they actually stopped trying to make me change. They also started to be nicer to me and be my friend, it was great!" He stared off in to space. Gidget didn't say anything in fear of making him loose his place, so she just sat there and followed his gaze. "It was so long ago that I don't think anyone even remembers how they didn't like me at first. I don't mind though, they all love me now, we're a great family."

"I've noticed." Gidget said. "All I've ever had was Genesis, I love her but sometimes I wish I had help, you know? It's hard taking care of a little girl all alone."

"You're not alone now though," Otto said looking at her seriously. "No monkey team member is ever alone. You have Antauri, and Sparx, Nova, Chiro, Jinmay and even Gibson." He blushed slightly and looked away from her. "And you have me too." He said in a tiny voice.

Gidget smiled and took his hands in hers. "And you have me. Sorry if I got you off topic, please continue your story."

"Oh yeah, well the point was that because they don't remember it, they also don't remember how important Mandarin used to be to me." Otto explained while looking back out at the lake. "Mandarin used to be my best friend, he would have never call us that, but that's what we were. If I had a problem I always went to Mandarin, he was always there when I needed him. Even after a hard day of battling he would listen to me, he didn't judge me, it was honestly one of the happiest times in my life." He stopped and smiled a bitter smile. "But nothing last forever, oh man do I know that all too well…"

"Otto if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to." Gidget said setting a hand on his shoulder.

"No it's okay," He shrugged it off. "You wanted to know the story."

"No," Gidget explained, keeping her hand on him, "I mean you don't have to tell me, I can see for myself."

Otto looked at her dumbfounded. "How?" he asked.

"Well one of the advantages to being Clairvoyant is that you can look through another's eyes, their past, present. I can go into your mind and see for myself what happened. It's this weird mind-melding technique I learned at some point, really helpful to get the exact story from someone, you know?"

"Will it hurt you?" Otto asked, looking directly into her eyes.

"Not physically." She said with a shrug. "There is the possibility I might get imprinted with some of your flashbulb memories though, those are the emotional connection you have to certain islands of memory." She explained while gently taking his hands up in hers. "You'll have to go back and relive the memories too, it might be emotionally draining, is that okay?"

Otto nodded slowly. "If it will help you understand better how he was before, yes. How do we do it?"

"Trust me." Gidget said and gently touched her forehead to his. "And just think of when Mandarin started to change." It was like a bright flash went through Otto, in that moment Gidget was seeing through his eyes.

.::~::.

There was a battle, they won but Mandarin seemed mad. Otto really annoyed him that day, like he tended to do everyday. Otto didn't notice it, was all just a normal morning to him. He kept on and on until finally Mandarin snapped at him and he hit him. It was quick, across the face, open-handed. It didn't hurt that bad but it was the shock that made Otto fall to the ground. Mandarin stood over him for a moment looking down with hate in his eyes. Gidget feared for her life, then his face changed.

He looked so sorry, and helped her up and told her he was so sorry and it would never happen again. He put some ointment on her face and it felt better. It was obvious he didn't mean it, and he promised it wouldn't happen again. So she had to believe him, right?

A quick shuffle of memories, a new day. The pain was all over this time. She had missed the actual beating this time, but she was so sore she couldn't move. Mandarin was over her again, and he told him that if he told any one he would finish the job. He said to say Otto had fallen down the stairs. Everyone would believe him, they all knew he was a klutz.

Shuffle, quicker this time, in closer succession. Mandarin would be standing over him, strangling him by the neck, hitting her, cutting his arms with his sword, it changed every day. Then it would be Otto fixing his wounds, changing the metal, hiding the fact she didn't want to admit something was wrong. The cycle continued a few times, just a few. Mandarin learned that she could replace the metal, so he could cut that up all he wanted.

Finally, a check up on Otto. Gibson saw where Otto had replace the metal and the cuts he had yet to get to. She told, he had to, the team confronted Mandarin. He had gotten worse and worse, talking about how the humans should bow to them instead of them saving the 'stupid, slow beasts'. They had to do something about him, they knew Mandarin could not stay here on Shuggazoom. There was a fight, a big one. It took all of them to beat Mandarin, but they did and they were going to have to sent him off to H.O.O.P.

One more shuffle. It was the day Mandarin was being sent off, they had him in restrains. He went easily enough, paraded through the streets so everyone could see the monster he had become, a traitor to his city. But just before he got on the ship he stopped in front of Otto. Their eye's locked and the look of sadness in his eyes almost made her forgive him for everything that had happened.

Almost that is. In the final fight Mandarin had tried to kill Otto, make him pay for telling on him. Luckily Sparx stopped him just in time and that had finally woken Otto up, and he knew that he was to far gone to save.

_I'm so sorry, Otto. _His eyes seemed to say. They put him on the ship, and Gidget cut the connection.

She gasped for breath and started to dry sob. When you connected with another mind you shared their feelings, their pain. It always hurt the most the first time you tried it but this... she put a hand up to her mouth but it wasn't enough to keep her from throwing up her ice cream. She turned her head so that it went into the grass beside the bench instead on of the sidewalk. She gasped for air and grabbed her black chest.

"I thought you said it wouldn't hurt you." Otto said softly as he placed a hand on her back. His voice was cracked from crying, his eyes red with the tears that wet his cheeks. Gidget looked at him sadly and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Oh Otto, I had no idea…" She hugged him tightly and tried to comfort him, make up for the abuse he had suffered years before. "I thought that would be easier than telling me but that was horrible. I'm so, so sorry." They sat there for a while like that in silence, just holding each other. Finally she pushed gently away from him and looked him in the eyes. "This is why you're always so happy, isn't it? You're afraid that if someone sees you sad, they'll try to get close to you, like Mandarin did. You're worried they would let you down like he did."

Otto simply nodded. "They tried really hard to make me feel better after he left. Sparx became like a cool older brother, and Gibson didn't yell at me so much. I think you can figure out what Nova kinda became to me." He blushed slightly. "I smile so they don't feel sorry, or worry about me. I don't want them to worry when smiling is so much easier than telling the truth."

"But Otto, you don't need to hide your feelings from them or from me." Gidget said while gently squeezing his hands. "If you ever need someone to confide in, I will always be here for you. No matter what, I promise."

"Thanks Gid." Otto said as he rubbed his tears away. "Gidget?" he asked suddenly, "When you talked to me a while ago at dinner, you know in our minds? You seemed like you really knew what you were talking about when you said mechanics can hide all the cuts. How?" Gidget's smile that was resting peacefully on her face quickly faded and she started to shake uncontrollably. "Are you o.k.?" Otto asked concerned.

"I don't know. I've never had a mindwalk effect me so drastically. I usually feel the occupants feelings sure, but those were so strong and didn't entirely feel like yours. It was like I had experienced all the same pain before, like…" She trailed off as she tried to form the words and finally just resorted to sobbing. This time it was Otto's turn to hold and comfort her. "Otto I don't want to remember my past." she replied, muffled by Otto's shoulder. "It's too painful, to scary."

"Then don't." Otto said rubbing her back slowly, "If it makes you feel so bad, forget it, forget everything. All that matters is now, right now, what you do from here on out. Mandarin is bad now, he's not the same monkey he was and no one can change that, but it's in the past and whatever happened to you is in the past too. You know who you and Genesis are and that's all that matters for now. Forget everything else and make a new life here."

Gidget looked up and smiled at Otto. _Thank you _her eyes said, or maybe she thought it, it really didn't matter. They simultaneously noticed that they were holding each other pretty tightly and blushed. They pushed away while wiping their eyes.

"Well we should probably be heading back now." Otto said, jumping off the bench, Gidget following suit.

"Otto?" Gidget asked one last time, her voice breaking. "Thank you." She embraced him quickly one more time before pulling away again.

"No problem, this is what friends are for." Otto state as they walked back towards the Robot, hand in hand for support.

.::~::.

Gidget and Otto walked back into the Super Robot's control room, just to be almost attacked by Gibson. "Where have you two been?!" He snapped as they strolled in. They looked at each other a minute before answering.

"We were out eating ice cream." They answered in unison.

"It took two hours to eat ice cream?" Gibson asked skeptical while crossing his arms.

"It was really good ice cream." Otto answered with a big smile.

"Fine, I don't care!" Gibson said, exasperated and rubbing his forehead. "As long as you're here now, I want to explain the battle plan for tomorrow."

"Oh, that's all you wanted? Otto already explained it to me." Gidget said shrugging her shoulders and sitting down in another bubble chair, this time Gibson's. Gibson's mouth dropped straight open. He looked furious for a minute, then taking a deep breaths. He calmed down and just stalked off to his room.

"Good night team," He said walking away. "I'm going to bed, hoping that when I wake up tomorrow, the past few days have been just a horrible nightmare. I suggest you all do the same."

"What's his problem?" Gidget asked tilting her head sideways. "And what did he mean by he hoped it was all a nightmare?"

"Don't worry about it too much, Giggles." Sparx said laughing and slapping her back. "Our Gibby gets a little silly sometimes."

Antauri cleared his throat and started to speak. "Well I suggest we do all follow Gibson's lead and find our ways back to our rooms. We must rest before battle tomorrow if we are to stand a chance."

"He's right guys." Chiro said walking in, having just come back from taking Jinmay home. Everyone gave their respective good nights and walked into to their rooms.

Gidget sighed as the door closed behind her. Geni was fast asleep in her bed. She gently laid her hand on her sister's head and smiled. She was sleeping easily, Gidget didn't know the last time Geni got such a restful sleep. Something was still bothering Gidget though and she couldn't sleep without resolving it. She left their room once more and walked over to Nova's room, knocking gently on the door.

"Come on in." the muffled reply came from behind the door. Taking a deep breath, Gidget walked in.

"Hi Nova." She said waving one hand but keeping the other behind her back. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, I guess." Nova said as she turned from her punching bag which she had been working out on.

"I'm really sorry if I offended you in any way these past few days." Gidget apologized while looking down. "I didn't mean to and I sure I crossed a boundary accidentally to get you so made at me."

"Look there's really no need to apologize." Nova sighed while walking towards her bed and rubbing the back of her head. "You didn't do anything wrong, you just caught me on an off day. I had kind of a bad day yesterday, but it got better today."

"What happened?" Gidget asked while leaning forward a bit. "If you don't mind telling me that is."

Nova leaned against her bed and sighed "Well to start, Sparx told me he wanted me to leave Shuggazoom with him after the end of the war..."

"That's great-!" Gidget said while clutching her hands to her chest and jumping up and down.

"Just to tell me he didn't mean it the moment after you arrived." Nova finished as she looked over at Gidget, pointedly.

"Oh…" Gidget said dejectedly while placing her hands back behind her back. "I guess that would make me pretty mad at myself too."

"Eh forget about it." Nova said brushing it off. "He apologized later and explained that he did mean it, but we should hold off on the wedding bells just yet cause of the war. I agreed because of some events _un_related to _you,_ he still has to earn my trust back."

"Thus the sudden change of heart." Gidget said while nodding slowly.

"That, and the fact that both Jinmay and Otto asked me to." Nova replied while shrugging her shoulders for emphasis. "Antauri also, all of them wanted me especially to start getting to know you better before I judged you, so I decided to take their advice. Though Antauri wants us to get along to be a more effective team, and Otto just wants us all to be a big happy family." Gidget looked at Nova for a minute, she was debating whether or not to tell Nova about Otto's crush on her.

She decide not to.

"Well I know that Sparx loves you, I could see it written all over his mind." Gidget tried to encourage her with a weary smile.

"Thanks, but like I said we're holding off on getting to involved till we get out of this war." Nova said before looking back at Gidget. "Look, I'm sorry about the past few days. I'm not use to having many other girls around here. I was the only girl for so long that I honestly never expected competition, I mean obviously Jinmay isn't taking any attention away from me considering she's taken. I haven't exactly been the nicest person to Sparx, so I just figured since I was the only girl monkey around, he had no other options. So when you showed up all nice and sweet I just got so…petty. Sorry, again." Gidget started to laugh, causing Nova to glare at her. "What exactly is so funny about that?"

"You being jealous of me!" Gidget said starting to cry a little from laughter. "How? I mean you're cool, smart, funny, and strong. All things every girl wants to be and all the things good guys want in a girl. I'm just a stupid, silly dork with no past, no guy is gonna be falling for me anytime soon." She looked away and smiled sadly.

Nova grinned and walked over to her. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I know one monkey who already thinks pretty highly of you. Enough to defend you anyways." She set her hand on Gidget's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Besides, if you really want to be stronger I can teach you a few fighting techniques, no problem."

"Really? You mean it?" Gidget asked, looking up at her happily. Nova was starting to realize everyone was onto something by saying Gidget and Otto were really alike, she could especially see it when they smiled.

"You bet." Nova said giving her a big thumbs up. Gidget squealed happily before locking Nova a huge hug and thanking her profusely. They both laughed before exchanging good nights and Gidget left for bed.

Gidget walked back to her room and jumped up into her hammock. She pushed herself off a nearby pipe to get rocking, feeling the gentle swaying motion of her bed. She tried to remember a time when she was this happy, and couldn't. She laughed at the thought, then smiled to herself and hummed a little song that Otto had taught her earlier that day.

"Super robot monkey team hyper force go. Come on with us let's go!" She sang quietly so not to wake Geni. She didn't know much about her past, but she knew enough to want to stay here forever. She yawned, turned over on her side and finally went to sleep.

* * *

I gave you full warning, and sorry if it got a little dark in there. I know this is not the Happy go lucky Otto we all know and love but I have a reason for this. _(Oh no, I apologize in advance for this rant.)_ To me Otto is more like me than my own characters. _(Oh God.)_ Happy, fun and crazy 99% of the time, and that's how I'm going to write him. It's just like me I think there's a reason as to why he is like that. No one is happy all the time no matter what we like to pretend. _(I am cringing right now, I am so, so sorry.)_

So I wrote Otto as a sad little abuse boy. _(On the floor convulsing with embarrassment.)_ I personally have not been abused physically, thankfully that's where my head-canon similarities stop, but still._ (Stop, me. Just...stop.)_ Mandarin and him obviously had something in the past and it made me wonder what it is. The only time we have ever seen Otto really mad was in the final episode when Sparx was hurting Nova and when he was fighting Mandarin. _(No actually there have been other times, I just choose to ignore them for this argument apparently.)_ I want this to be clear though, this was not a daily type of beating. This happened randomly and only a few times, but once is enough. _(This PSA is brought you by a self-righteous 18 year old whose heart is in the right place but really needs to pick a better time and way to say this.) _

So yeah I ripped the happy little curtain off of Otto, _(Stop, please, you are embarrassing yourself)_ and revealed him to be deeper than he seems. _(I'm dead, I'm literally dead with embarrassment at my past self right now.) _Trust me this will not be tone of the rest of the chapters, Otto will still be the happy, crazy guy we love. I just wanted to show a different side of him. Sorry if I upset some of you, I didn't mean to. _(Because my writing style is something to be upset about, I'm so, so sorry everyone.)_

Next week! We finally see some battling! Yay!

(_Okay so as much as I'm being hard on myself in this author ramble, I kinda deserve it. While in theory, exploring the Otto/Mandarin relationship and interpreting it as slightly abusive isn't that new or original, I apparently thought it was when I first wrote this and not only decided to make a complete ass of myself by trying to justify it because "I **get** Otto, I **am** Otto", I had to shove a Public Service Announcement down your throat that beating up people you care about is bad, yo. Duh. So I apologize because once again, I had the idea there I just...lost it somewhere in the middle of 'Look at how deep I can make these characters!11' I still think of the Otto/Mandarin relationship like this and this is something I think I want to explore deeper at another time but now...was not it, so once again I apologize for all who read the story when it was first published, I'm sorry.  
_

_Oh geez, we haven't even gotten to the point where I really started to completely interrupt the flow of the story by inserting my author remarks into the story itself. That's when I really will die of complete and utter embarrassment. Okay sorry for rambling on for a paragraph, on with the show and all that jazz.)_


	8. Ch 8 Voices

_(In which there is no author's notes cause I forgot them, whoops.)_

* * *

_There was a small figure sitting atop the Super Robot. It was tiny in comparison to the humongous mech, and while the morning light crept into the sleeping city it was there, thinking. It thought about all that had happened the past few days and it smiled to itself. And to think it had all started with a voice…_

The Hyper Force was in a frenzy the next morning, everyone was busy getting ready for the battle ahead. Gidget and Genesis were adjusting their communicators while Jinmay explained their jobs and gave a brief tutorial of how to use the computer to communicate with the squad leaders, Antauri was taking some time to meditate while Chiro was giving commands and formations to the ground units. Gibson was finishing up some calculations for ammunition use while Nova put them into the computer and Sparx was completing his daily ritual of polishing his magnets while Otto made some adjustments for some things in the Super Robot, while of course also eating his breakfast.

"Otto if you get crumbs in that control panel, it will be one of the last things you do." Gibson reminded him, annoyed. "The last thing we need is the robot malfunctioning because you got toast in the motherboard."

"Mrh nhot groing tooh!" Otto's food stuffed reply came. Gibson crinkled his snout at him in disgust so Otto swallowed the rest of his food before continuing. "Besides, I haven't eaten breakfast yet! If I pass out because you wouldn't let me eat, who would pilot the foot crusher?"

"I doubt you would pass out after only 5 hours without food." Gibson rolled his eyes.

"You obviously don't understand how Otto's digestive system words, Gibby." Gidget said while leaning down to help Geni attach her communicator.

"Oh and you do?" He said glaring at her over his clip board.

"Well yeah, duh." Gidget retorted with a smirk. "It's the same as mine and our metabolisms call for us to enjoy a hardy snack every few hours."

"Oh, of course it does." Gibson huffed, he was already exasperated of those two and they had only been up for a few hours.

"You really should have guessed that by now." Nova said without looking up from typing. Gibson turned to glare at her when Chiro interrupted all their bickering.

"Hey guys," Chiro said, taking off his headset. "You think you could stop fighting till after the battle, we kinda have an important mission coming up and I would really appreciate it if we were all at least trying to get along with each other."

"Sorry Gibson," Otto and Gidget said in unison. "We didn't mean to make you mad."

"I don't care," Gibson said rubbing his head. "Just, please stop the synchronized talking."

"Okay," They both said again. They both quickly put their hands to their mouths and covered them.

"Sorry." their muffled reply in unison came again. They both looked at each other and made identical mouth zipping movements. Gibson just sighed and rubbed his head while everyone else was trying to suppress laughter and giggles. The bad thing was they weren't even trying to copy each other now. Both Otto and Gidget slapped their heads in unison and fell over dramatically as Sparx glanced over at Nova. She caught his look and smiled faintly at him; he responded with a wink, and she quickly got rid of her smile and turned to ask Jinmay something. All of this noticed by Gidget who gave Sparx a thumbs up from her spot laying perpendicularly under Otto, Sparx smiled back and returned the gesture.

_Maybe we will be alright. _Antauri thought to Genesis, who smiled back at him and nodded. _We seem to have acquired a much more positive outlook for the end of this war than before you and your sister arrived. _He continued, causing Genesis to blush a bit and then shrug in response.

_This is what Gidget does to people. _She answered. _She tends gives them hope. _Antauri nodded and finally opened his eyes while landing on the floor.

"I believe," He began speaking to the rest of the team, "that we should continue preparing for the up coming battle in our own vehicles, we only have a short amount of time till the battle begins and I think we could all use it to meditate at what's at stake here if we do not succeed."

"Cheerful and rousing speech there, Antauri." Sparx commented with a smirk and a roll of his eyes while everyone gathered into a circle.

"Come on team, hands in." Chiro said as he stuck his own hand out. Nova sat her hand on top of his, followed by Sparx, then Gibson, both of Otto's, Antauri's and Jinmay's. They then looked at Gidget and Genesis, waiting for them to join.

"You guys waitin' on us?" Gidget asked looking at everyone. "Oh no, we're not really part of the team, you guys just met us two days ago."

"Yes, and already you have guys have proved yourselves to be valuable teammates." Chiro said smiling.

"We could never replace you two." Jinmay added.

"Yeah, you two _are _already part of the team." Sparx said with a cocky smile.

"Indeed," Gibson said with just a hint of sarcasm. "No one could possibly replicate what you two have accomplished in your short time here, even if they tried. Thankfully."

"You're both practically like sisters to me." Nova said smiling with a wink. "The good and the bad that comes with that."

"You have certainly succeeded in giving us a new hope." Antauri pointed out.

Genesis stood up on her tip toes to put her hand on top of the growing pile, looking to Gidget to join them. She stood there a moment longer, looking at them all with tears in her eyes.

"As Antauri once said," Otto replied, " 'No monkey team member is ever alone.' You have already done so much for us, we could never thank you enough. So trust me when I say that you are a part of our team, and a part of our family." Gidget wiped her eyes while she sat her own hand on top of the pile.

"Thank you," She said with a small shake of her head. "For everything. You have no idea how much this means to me, to us." She hugged Geni with her free arm and smiled. "Isn't there a chant or something you guys do at the end of this?" She asked smiling, everyone nodded and started.

"Super!"

"Robot!"

"Monkey!"

"Team!"

"Hyper!"

"Force!"

"GO!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"All right team," Chiro said with a deep breath. "Let's do this."

.::~::.**  
**

They watched as the Skeleton Kings forces slowly reappeared on the horizon. They assembled themselves around the wrecked spaceship that still littered the battle field and then halted at the Skeleton King's command and waited the signal to attack.

"All right troops," Chiro said to the entire Skeleton King Resistance Force. "Let's stay focused and remember your battle formations. Prepare to engage the enemy in 5 minutes, if they do not advance first." He cut the line and sighed. This was it, he could only hope the miracle that was sent to them would be enough to help them beat the Skeleton King. He doubted that Gidget and Genesis' only roles would be as communicators. "How it going girls?" Chiro asked on the Super Robot's private line.

"Fine and dandy, Chiro!" Gidget chirped happily. "But considering we haven't had to send out any orders yet, that's to be expected."

"And that was Gidget with the weather," Sparx said in a fake announcer voice, "Now over to Jinmay with sports. Jinmay?"

"All's fine in every sector, defense looks good." Jinmay said without missing a beat.

"Excellent, now the little Princess with the main story!" Sparx continued.

Genesis looked at Jinmay and Gidget, puzzled. _How am I suppose to answer him?_ She asked tilting her head to one side.

"No clue," Gidget said to her, then turned her attention back to Sparx. "Can you please try to act serious here? This is a very stressful period." She said, smirking all the while.

"Okay, Giggles. Calm down, I'll get my head in the game." He responded back lightheartedly.

"Guys," Nova said snapping their attention back to the situation at hand, "something's happening in front of the army formation." They all focused their attention on a group of Formless as they started to gather together in a large group. "What are they doing?" Nova asked to no one in particular.

"It appears that they are grouping together for some kind of attack…" Gibson answered rubbing his chin.

**Boom!** A huge explosion rocked the Super Robot, the battle had officially began. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say they were just a distraction." Sparx said while trying to regain his balance.

"Otto! What's the damage report?" Chiro called out, ignoring Sparx.

"Damage is minimal, the attack came from the northeast." He answered quickly while typing something on his console.

"Jinmay?" Chiro asked the unspoken question as he watched Skeleton King order his first wave of fighters onwards.

"Already sending sector five to confront them." She said calmly while typing out the orders.

"Great, make sure to remind all forces stay out of the Super Robot's way, we don't need to be worrying about stepping on the good guys out there."

"Sending orders!" Gidget called as she and Geni both typed frantically.

"Fist rockets launch missiles into the oncoming forces." Chiro ordered to Sparx and Gibson.

"Understood." Gibson answered while aiming his rockets.

"You got it, Kid." Sparx replied pressing the buttons.

"oh no," Jinmay whispered quietly as the rockets soared through the sky

"What's wrong?" Gidget asked covering up her mouth piece.

"Sector 8 already needs help." Jinmay answered while covering her own. "And I'm going to go help them."

"What?!" Gidget whispered harshly. "Are you crazy? We need you here, and I'm pretty sure one of the reasons Chiro put you in here was to help protect you!"

"Yes, but I can handle myself out there." Jinmay answered while turning into her metal robot form causing Gidget's eyes to become wide with shock. "We never told you I could do that, did we?" Gidget stared at her wide-eyed and shook her slowly head. "Look I'll be fine out there, just don't tell Chiro what I'm doing. At least not till I get out there already." And with that, Jinmay quickly flew out into the midst of the battle. Gidget waited approximately 20 seconds before contacting Chiro.

"Hey Chiro, your girlfriend just joined the fight." Gidget quickly before getting back to sending out the orders.

"What?! Tell her to get back here right now!" Chiro snapped while quickly trying to search out Jinmay amongst the fighting.

"She won't listen to me." Gidget said just as another tremor shook the robot. "What is that?!"

Chiro growled in frustration. "Ugh! I'll worry about her later, I know she can handle herself out there for now. Heck, it's one of the reasons I love her. Where did that one come from?" Chiro asked turning his attention back to the attack on the robot.

"Southeast this time." Otto said while trying to figure out what they were firing at them. "It must be some kind of missile but I can't seem to figure out what type of Formless is causing it.

"There are more than one type of those gooey monsters?" Gidget asked with worry in her voice as Chiro continued on giving instructions.

"Yes. Nova, Otto prepare to turn towards the southeast, we're going to take care of those shakers."

"Roger." Otto and Nova said turning the super robot around to face the enemies currently firing at them.

"Alright,' Chiro said gripping his controls tightly. "Aim and prepare to fire-" Plop! A sickly sound came from behind the Super Robot as some thing was attached it's back. "What was that?" Chiro asked, the dread in his voice growing.

"It appears to be some sort of sticky material." Antauri answered as they wiped a bit of it from the Super Robot's back and attempted to get it off of the Robot's fist rockets.

"Oh gross!" Otto yelled as he watched the substance slowly drip off the robot's hand.

"What is it?" Gibson asked equal parts intrigued and disgusted.

"It's connected from the back of the robot to the opposing army, and I think it's made of those big Gooeyies." Gidget said repulsed by the substance. "At least that's what our people on the ground are saying.

"Why would they want it to be connected to the-?" Antauri pondered when the answer hit him like a fist. "Quick team, get it off!" He yelled to late, the Robot was suddenly pulled backwards off its feet and quickly dragged towards the Skeleton King Army.

"Guys! If we get pulled into the middle of the army, our reinforcements won't have backup!" Otto yelled worried while struggling gain control.

"Not to mentioned the entire Super Robot will be over run!" Gibson added while trying to grab for purchase on the ground.

"Don't worry Mech-head I've got this!" Sparx said as he slammed the Fist Rocket 3 into the ground and used the sticky stuff to hold the Robot in place.

"A little help Gibson?" Sparx asked struggling against the handles to keep from sliding backwards anymore.

"Well of course, Sparx." Gibson said using the Fist rocket 4 to grab on to the ground too, managing to keep them from losing anymore ground.

"What are we going to do?" Nova asked concerned and trying with all her might to keep the robot from getting pulled back farther by digging the Foot Crusher Cruiser 6 further into the dirt.

"I don't know." Chiro said while shaking his head slowly and a wave of formless solders started to approach the Super Robot while Gidget stood there clenching her fists. Her friends, her family was in trouble and all she could do was stand here! She wanted to help, but how could she?

_Calm down and listen to me if you want to help the team._

Gidget stopped, and looked around confused. Who was that voice? She had never heard it before and only someone close by could communicate that clearly.

_Who are you? _She sent out in all directions hoping to identify who was speaking. Genesis heard it and turned around to look at Gidget, puzzled.

_Who are you-?_ Genesis began before Gidget hushed her quickly.

_An ally. _It replied as Gidget still tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. _Look under the control panel._

_Why should I? _Gidget asked skeptically, it honestly sounded like the voice was coming from all around her.

_Believe in the Heart of the Machine._ They answered quickly before falling silent. Gidget got on her knees and opened the main computer's panel front. She peered under the wires leading directly to the keyboard and gasped.

"All movement is stopped!" Otto said digging the Foot Crusher Cruiser 5 into the ground. The robot slipped back occasionally but was able to maintain its footing and hand holds well enough to not be in any immediate danger of being pulled straight back into the opposing army. Unfortunately, the army was coming to them.

"Aw great!" Chiro yelled while running his hands through his hair. "Everyone focus on staying in place, Antauri you and me need to be ready to fight the oncoming forces when they reach the robot, okay? "

"Understood Chiro." Antauri answered as he prepared to disconnect the Super Robot's head and take on the oncoming Skeleton King army while Gidget peered under the control panel and saw a line of colored switches consisting of the colors red, yellow, blue, orange, green, black and purple, in that order. Every single one of them were flipped up, except the last one.

_Just flip the big purple switch to save our friends._

Gidget hesitated for a moment, she felt like something big was going to happen. She finally took a deep breath, and flipped the switch.

"Kid, we can't hold on much longer!" Sparx yelled, struggling to keep in control the Fist Rocket.

"We'll have to, Sparx." Chiro said. He was actually betting on Gidget doing something to save them all, that's how things normally turned out in these situations he figured, but the time frame for that to happen was closing quickly. He would have to make a decision soon if she didn't come to their aid.

Gidget immediately heard metal scraping together behind her. She pulled her head out the panel and gasped because beside of Antauri's black tube, the wall was opening and a purple tube was sliding out and into place.

_What is that?! _Geni asked both concerned and shocked.

"I don't know." Gidget said taking off her head set and walking towards the tube. She stuck her head into and looked up it. "Where does it go?" She asked stepping into it as a sudden gust of air sent her shooting up into the tube with a yelp. Geni stared in shock as her sister disappeared into the tube and she ran over and gazed longingly up into the pipe, praying Gidget would be okay before returning to her post. Someone still had to stick around and give out the mission commands after all.

The Super Robot's footing and hand-grips gave away a little and it shifted slightly towards the opposing army.

"We can't hold on much longer Chiro!" Gibson yelled pushing all his weight onto the handles.

"We can't give in team." He said as confidently as he could. "Hold on a little longer something is bound to happen."

"Yeah, we're about to get over ran by an army." Sparx snapped through gritted teeth.

Gidget screams echoed through the Robot as she went shooting up the mysterious tube. Suddenly, the direction she was going shifted from up to diagonally down and the sudden change made her hit her face against the side of the tube before being pushed down the other direction. She gave out another yelp and grabbed her face, holding it there for the rest of the fall. This position kept her from catching herself as she hit the floor of an odd, oval and purple room. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she slowly picked herself up and looked around. The weird room looked just like the inside of one of the Fist Rockets but it had five steering rods instead of three.

"What is this?" She asked out loud as she looked around and rubbed her bruises.

_Step up onto the handles and find out for yourself. _The voice said simply, she had no other choice but to obey the suggestion and stepped onto the feet controls while gripping the handles. She wrapped her tail around the final control and the computer hooked into the back of her head.

"Welcome Gidget." It said again in an oddly familiar voice. Then it hit her, the voice of the computer was the same one that moments ago had been in her head.

"Are you the Super Robot?" Gidget asked in a cautious whisper. No reply came but the quick jolt of the craft as it started up.

The team could hear the internal groan of metal all around them.

"We're not gonna last like this!" Nova said frantically causing Chiro to sigh.

"You're right Nova. Antauri prepare to-"

"Hey wait! Something's happening!" Otto said quickly while pointing to his screen, "Look!" Suddenly some kind of vehicle appeared from a small circle on the lower back of the Robot. "Is that-?"

"The Tail Slither 7 is now fully functioning and operational. Welcome back, Gidget." The computer said again. Gidget suddenly felt the controls become alive in her hands and move in all separate directions and the Tail Slither began to whip frantically back and forth.

"Whoa!" Gidget yelled as she her limbs were pulled all different ways and she was thrown from side to side in the odd vehicle. She was having a hard time getting use the controls, they were much more sensitive than that of the Fist Rockets.

"A tail!?" Chiro finished as it became clear what it was.

"Who's driving that thing?" Nova asked, though she already had a pretty good guess of who it was.

"Gidget, is that you in there!?" Sparx yelled as his face suddenly appeared on the upper right hand corner of her screen. "Are you controlling that thing?"

"Uh, yeah." She said trying to regain control of the machine. "I'm trying to anyways."

"Where did you get this?" Otto asked as the new attachment to the vehicle flailed around, momentarily distracting the oncoming army.

"Tell you later, kinda busy right now guys." She said as she accidentally pushed the one of the buttons on her tail handle. The end of the tail suddenly separated into several smaller tail blades. "Oops." Gidget said quietly, looking at what she had done. The blades started to rotate slowly and then quickly sped up. She felt the ship start to jump again and quickly tried to regain control and, in the midst of all the chaos, cut the line of goop connecting to the Robot to the army.

The tension in the appendages of the Robot were immediately gone and the team sighed in relief.

"Good work Gidget!" Sparx said giving her a thumbs up.

"Why is all my best work done by accident?" Gidget sighed before finally gaining control of her Tail Slither.

"What are we going to do about the sticky stuff all over the robot?" Otto asked as he held up his foot crusher which was now covered in that same gunk. "We can't battle like this."

"Wait a second." Gidget said after pressing a few buttons and changing the blade into a sharp point. "I might actually have something that can help us out here." She pushed another button and made a small laser come out of the end of the tail.

She carefully aimed it towards the gooey stuff, causing it to quickly slice through the stuff and making it come off in large slabs.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Gibson said covering his mouth, and the smile that was appearing there.

"Gross!" Otto yelled while laughing and clapping.

"But very helpful." Antauri added with a smirk.

"Thanks guys." Gidget said as she finished her job, and blushing from all the attention while the robot flexed its muscles a little and stretched.

"Everything's in working order." Gibson reported while making sure all the fingers were flexible.

"Hey guys, is anyone else getting a weird message on their screen?" Otto asked while lifting the foot crusher to step on some Formless foot solders not smart enough to run away.

"Like what?" Chiro asked.

"Autopilot now activated." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at their screens, sure enough it was on all of them.

"What the heck does that mean?" Sparx asked confused and looking the rest of the team. "I've never seen that message before."

Gidget slowly took her hands off of the Tail Slither's handles and watched as they moved on their own. "Hey guys," she said with a growing smile, "the Super Robot can battle for himself for a while. Let's go out there and kill some big Gooeyies!" She was ready to fight with her own two hands now, blood lust was beginning to work its way into her system.

"The Super Robot's never done anything like this before." Gibson said scratching his chin.

"Well, what about the time that giant computer tried to kill us all and dissect Antauri?" Nova pointed out.

"I mean it has never done anything like this with us still inside of it." Gibson quickly corrected himself with a hint of annoyance.

"What about the time we met Slingshot? Or the time it piloted us out of the Dark One Worm?" Otto asked.

"Otto," Gibson said annoyed

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Come on guys," Gidget said standing up and walking out of the Robot. "What are you guys waiting for? He told me he's got this."

"Who told you?" Chiro asked while looking to the rest of the team confused.

"The Super Robot of course." And with that she flew out the Robot.

"Gidget!" Everyone screamed in unison.

"What are you doing?!" Chiro yelled, "Come back here!"

"Super Robot's got everything under control." She said into her communicator as she hovered just a hundred yards above the Formless. As if tp emphasis this point, the Robot moved completely on his own to attack the Formless army.

"Gidget." Otto said unbuckling from his seat. "You can't fight them alone, wait for me."

"Otto don't you dare go out there, she's lost her circuitry!" Gibson yelled. "She can't honestly believe the Super Robot was talking to her!"

"Why not?" Otto asked as he headed outside himself .

"Because it's a robot!" Gibson yelled at the purple and green duo.

"So?" Otto and Gidget asked in unison as Otto joined her side.

"Will you two listen to me! We can't fight them on our own!" Gibson yelled frantically.

"Why?" Sparx asked stepping off of his own controls. "We've done hundreds of times before and beat them. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go out there and kick some Formless butt."

"Wait a minute Sparx." Nova said quickly stopping him from leaving his machine.

"Finally someone who agrees-" Gibson said sighing.

"You can't fight them with out me there." Nova said standing up to leave too.

"Not you to Nova?! You're all going to get yourself killed!"

"Gibson," Chiro started.

"I mean really," Gibson continued on his rant. "These are completely new Formless that we have not encountered yet and-

"Gibson." Chiro said a little more forcibly this time.

"-you're likely to die if you go out there all willy-nilly without finding out more about their powers-"

"Gibson!" Chiro yelled, finally getting the blue scientist's attention. "The entire time you have been talking, the rest of the team left."

Gibson gasped as he saw that everyone was standing outside waiting for him.

"We won't be any good in there, old friend." Antauri said calmly. "Maybe we should go out and face this problem head on."

"Et' tu Antauri? Et' tu?" Gibson said sighing and rubbing his face, "Guess I have no choice but to join you. Even if it is, in all likelihood, a suicide mission."

"Glad to see you on our side Brain Strain." Sparx said as he and Nova stood beside Gidget and Otto.

"All right," Chiro said as he pumped his fist in the air. "Team, move out!"

* * *

_(Eh not a lot to say about this chapter, didn't edit too much but not one of my best. Kinda ended up really driving the point home about family there in the middle but eh, it serves it's purpose so I'll leave it be for the most part. In reality, there are a whole lot worse chapters coming up so I think I'll focus more on fixing those than just the little things that bother me in this one.)_


	9. Ch 9 Fist Fight

More fights! And an important message at the bottom!

* * *

As soon as Chiro gave the all clear Gidget, Otto, Sparx and Nova all dove down into the crowd of Formless that was gathering under them.

"Let's go!" Gidget cheered as she jumped head first into the crowd, guns blazing. She continually fired several rounds of ammo into the formless and watched them explode with a slightly twisted smile. "You guys didn't tell me beating these guys up was so much fun." Gidget called back behind her.

"I enjoy it." Nova yelled back as she squashed several Formless with her fists. "I mean it's great exercise."

"Magno-Bolt Beam Splitter!" Sparx yelled as he sent his attack out into the hoards of Formless. "They're harder to take down than they use to be!" he commented.

"Just means they're more fun to kill!" Otto yelled as he ran through the enemy with a Razor Chariot.

"I wonder if I have any cool moves like you guys." Gidget asked out loud while dealing a face full of lead to a Formless that got too close.

Nova hit another formless before replying to her. "You don't know?"

"Well I just thought up the name of my transformers just two days ago, I haven't had time figure out my moves." Gidget unloaded another clip of bullets into the enemies before taking her aim at the group of oncoming Formless and stood her ground. "You guys might want to stand back for this one." Sparx, Nova and Otto gave each other a quick look and backed away swiftly from Gidget. She closed her eyes and focused, suddenly her guns started to emit a faint yellow light.

Otto tilted his head to the side and started to ask asked, "What's that-?" When a laser shot out of Gidget's guns and completely obliterated the Formless that were unfortunate enough to be standing in front of her.

"Monkey Doodle!" Nova yelled as both her and the boys ducked down.

"Whoa!" Gidget said as she looked at the carnage that she had caused. "Awesome! It's like a super Ray gun!" She glanced down at her guns and a wicked smile came across her face. "Ray Blast Death Attack!" She yelled as she let another one of the blasts go, this time spinning in a semi-circle to better spread out the attack. "A room clearer at the very least." She said breathing hard and wiping sweat from her brow. She felt her knees starting to buckle under her and she collapsed on the ground, exhausted, with the Formless taking this opportunity to run forward and attack.

"Gidget!" Otto yelled rushing forward to help her.

"String Ring!" Nova yelled as she jumped over Otto to protect both him and Gidget.

"Electro-Vibra Force!" Sparx shouted as he joined her side. "Are you okay there, Meteor?" He called back over his shoulder.

"Yeah," she answered as Otto quickly checked up on her energy cells. "I guess that attack took more out of me than I excepted, need to be careful using that one."

"Be careful not to burn out too quickly, now." Sparx yelled back jokingly.

"That attack took almost half your energy!" Otto said as he finished checking Gidget. "Don't use it again." He said with a serious look that didn't often grace his face.

"All right Dr. Otto." Gidget stood up, but began to wobble and reached out to Otto to help steady herself. "If it's doctor's orders I'll be careful from now on."

"Wait hold on a minute." Otto said as he continued to watch Gidget's energy levels slowly rise. "You're already getting back some of your used-up energy." He looked up at her confused. "How are you doing that?" He asked as he looked around for an answer, and stumbling on a possible solution, Otto quickly took Gidget's arm and leaned over it, covering her weapon in shadow. Like he suspected, they stopped recharging and maintained steady levels of energy. "Actually, your guns might be partially solar-powered." He commented as he pulled Gidget's arm in and out of sunlight. "But just a little bit. At this rate it shouldn't take you too awful long to get back the energy you used up, but don't abuse the power." He cautioned while looking directly at Gidget. "Your more powerful attacks take a lot more out of you, use them only sometimes."

Gidget felt her face grow slightly red with the attention she was getting and nodded solemnly to Otto. "Okay, noted." She assured him with a smile. "Though I still have to try out all my attacks first, like I said I really don't know what I'm doing yet." She admitted.

"All the more reason to be careful there, Crash." Sparx commented while stopping a couple of Formless from getting too close the green and violet couple. "Speaking of which, can you two get back to helping us fight these guys? I think Brain-Strain could use some help, though he's too stubborn to ask."

"Okay, I'm on it." Gidget yelled while flying off to assist Gibson, Antauri and Chiro. Otto looked after her longingly with worry in his eyes.

"It's ok, Mech-head," Sparx said nudging Otto gently, "You can go after her, I'll protect Nova here." Otto smiled and followed Gidget just as Nova turned to Sparx and glared at him.

"I don't need protection." She said as she used a Flame Fist Fury on the opponents instead of Sparx.

"Uh, right of course you don't." Sparx said quickly looking back at her and hoping that Nova would keep her hands to herself. "I just said it to make Otto leave so we could have more quality alone time together." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, but Nova just glared at Sparx in return. Suddenly her face darkened and pulled her arm back, launching it towards him and punching a Formless just inches away from Sparx's face. It had snuck up on him while he was distracted trying to flirt.

She smiled smugly at him, "Look who needs protecting now." Sparx could only smile and shrug in agreement.

.::~::.

Gidget landed beside Gibson and gave him a big smile. "Hey Gibby how ya doin'?"

"Gidget the only reason I'm not going to get mad at that nickname is because I am a bit busy now." He answered slightly annoyed. "Is there something in particular that you need?"

"Actually yeah." Gidget answered as she got back-to-back with Gibson so they could chat and fight at the same time. "I don't really know all that much about how my weapons work yet. So far all I've found out is that I have a few varied attacks, from some simple energy bullets to a more powerful laser gun that uses a lot of power in one swoop, and that my guns are slightly solar-powered to help me not completely burn out after a few minutes of fighting." Gidget explained quickly.

"Gidget," Gibson sighed annoyed, "like I said, I'm a bit busy right now and while that all seems very interesting, I would much prefer to listen to your explanation of your weapons some other time. So I will repeat, is there a point to this?" He asked turning slightly to her and raising his eyebrow.

"Well yeah," Gidget shifted slightly to shoot a Formless who was raising his sword to attack. "I can't help but notice that your weapons are fairly similar to mine; a multi-shot, quick-fire gun-like device." Gibson nodded while they fought.

"Yes, my Cybovac Drills are similar to that and have a wide variety of ammunition I can use with them." Gibson confirmed, which made Gidget nod more vigorously.

"Yeah see that's what I'm wondering, how do you see if you have different types of ammo and how can you change out between one type and the next?" She asked quickly while ducking to avoid the swing of an ax.

"Oh, well it's not really something I think about when I do it I suppose." Gibson stated while jumping to the side and freezing a monster in place before jumping up to finish them. "I suppose I'm so use to it, it's just something I do at this point almost automatically." Gidget's shoulders slumped.

"Oh, okay. I was hoping for something a bit more helpful than that but thanks anyways." She sidestepped a Formless and placed the barrel of her gun under its chin before firing. "Hey wait, don't you make you're own ammo?" She asked suddenly, excited again.

"Yeesss..." Gibson answered slowly, trying to remember if he had mentioned that to her.

"Well then maybe, you can help me make some of my own!" Gidget said happily, turning around to face him. Gibson looked sternly at her a moment, a wave of mistrust sweeping over him.

"Perhaps I can." He answered finally. "But it will have to be something we discuss in detail sometime after this battle." Gidget nodded, oblivious to how calculated Gibson had answered that.

"Okay great! Thanks a ton Gibby!" Gidget cheered as she turned around and sent a shorter blast of her ray gun into the crowd of Formless, helping clear them a bit but not as well as the larger one had done. "I'm gonna go see if anyone else needs my help, see you!" Gidget flew and landed beside Chiro, greeting him warmly and Gibson stood looking after her a moment longer before Otto landed beside him, smiling widely.

"Hey Gibson!" He said as he used one of his saws to cut a formless in half. "Havin' fun?" Gibson slowly looked over at Otto.

"What do you think? The Formless are twice as hard to kill as they used to be and they have far larger numbers than we have ever previously had to face at once. Do you honestly have to ask me how I am doing?" Gibson questioned while constantly ducking and attacking enemies.

"Well since we not only have a new teammate to help us fight them, and the Super Robot is actually doing a fair amount of damage, I assumed that we were doing pretty good." Otto answered honestly as he looked towards were the Super Robot was having no trouble taking care of Formless. The only thing Gibson disliked more than Otto acting like a complete ignoramus, was when Otto was actually being reasonable, and when he used logic to support why he was right and Gibson was wrong.

The truth be told Gibson had noticed that they not only seemed to be getting through the swarm of enemy forces quickly, but they also had gotten progressively closer to the Skeleton King himself. Even thought the Formless were twice as resistant as before, they seemed to be defeated far too easily. Gibson might like to think that they had just gotten exceedingly stronger since their last scrape with the Skeleton King, but he doubted it. It was all too planned, that just before the largest battle the universe had ever seen they were given a two extra days to prepare because of a coincidence that would have had an astronomical probably of occurring naturally. Not only that, their convenient new allies appeared to be extremely powerful, and they just so happen to not remember a thing about their past? And their personalities were made to fit perfectly in with the team like they always were meant to belong? Like how Gidget's quirkiness reminded them all so much of Otto, one of the most well liked monkeys. And then there was Genesis, who just seemed so innocent that everyone just had to like her. All of it was too well scripted, all of it at too much of an advantage for the Hyper Force.

Gibson looked suspiciously at Gidget and wondered for not the first time if perhaps she really was sent by Skeleton King to trick them.

.::~::.

The purple simian was trying to see if she had different types of ammo, when she came upon a small section of her gun that opened and held a few strange orbs in her repertoire of ammunition. She looked at them and shrugged as she put one down each barrel of her guns and aimed them at the enemy and shot. The orbs rocketed out of her guns and hit the wave of oncoming Formless head on. There was an immediate reaction as a small explosion engulfed the Formless, the flash being so bright that Gidget had to shield her eyes as to not sustain damage to her ocular orbs. She smiled and was struck with an idea after she saw the result of her new favorite weapon.

"Otto come here!" She yelled happily while waving him over, he looked at her sideways but complied after he defeated the enemy he was fighting.

"Yeah Gidget, something wrong?" He asked as he flew down beside her, saws at the ready to slice any Formless who tried to tango with them.

"No see, I just got a wicked idea and I need your help to make it happen." She pointed at him while quickly explaining then the plan. A wide grin spread across Otto's face and he nodded in agreement.

"Ooh, that's gonna be so cool!" Otto said as he got ready to perform his part in the carnage.

"Razor Chariot!" He yelled as he readied himself for the attack.

"Boom Bombs!" Gidget yelled as she jumped on Otto's back. Otto steered through the mob of Formless, making a path while Gidget shot bombs off his back. They flew farther because she was off the ground and Otto made sure none of them went towards the other team mates. "Good job Otto!" Gidget cheered her partner on as he mowed down the Formless.

"Awesome shooting Gid!" He responded as they both laughed at how equal parts silly and awesome this was. "We have an Exploding Chariot!"

Chiro couldn't help noted that they made an excellent team and smiled to himself as he fought off his own enemies before glancing back over at his silver second-in-command.

Antauri closed his eyes and focused his mind as he began to glow an odd purple color. "Monkey Mind Screech!" He yelled as he focused all of his attack on the Formless unfortunate enough to be standing near him.

"Antauri!" Chiro called out to him as he delivered a Lighting Kick into the stomach of an enemy, "We are almost to Skeleton King's castle." Antauri looked up and saw his old master standing on one of the many balconies overlooking the carnage with his old, orange teammate crouched upon his shoulder.

_Come and fight me Hyper Force. _Skeleton King projected out for Antauri to hear with an evil smirk. _If you think are strong enough that is. _He turned away from the fight and walked back into his fortress. Antauri clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. They would defeat him this time, they had to.

"Lighting Kick!" Chiro yelled as he attacked another Formless. "Do you guys see this letting up any time soon?" He called out to the teammates near him.

"No, but we are definitely getting closer to the castle." Sparx yelled back. "You want to make a run for it?"

"We might as well," Nova said hitting Formless randomly. "Let's go straight to the source and stop wasting energy on these distractions."

"Agreed." Antauri said appearing beside his teammates. "It's time to end this once and for all."

"Well then, What are we waiting for?" Gibson asked as he froze his opponents in place and allowed Otto and Gidget's Exploding Chariot to finish them.

"Otto, Gidget, clear a path for us." Chiro called to the monkeys They both nodded and turned their explosive vehicle towards the door. Gibson watched them with a kind of contempt, but said nothing, but Sparx though this was odd. Gibson didn't protest this like everything else Otto and Gidget had done all day. Being a monkey of science he usually had to put in his two cents in to every situation, so what was making him hesitate this time, Sparx pondered.

Gibson just glared a bit at Gidget, Did he suspect her? Sparx had to admit, everything revolving around Gidget was starting to seem all too convenient, but Antauri trusted her so shouldn't they all? Sparx shook his head, trying to clear away the traitorous thoughts that ran through his mind. Gidget was a good kid and he believed her when she said that she was here to help them. The paranoid agent wouldn't win this time, he would make sure of that besides, he had no right to judge Gidget when he had tried to kill the entire team just days ago.

Otto and Gidget made a path while everyone else quickly followed and held back the opposing forces while they made their way to the gate. Once there, Gibson and Gidget tried to find a way into the fortress.

"Rats!" Gidget yelled as she pushed against the door. "It won't budge."

"You expected to be welcomed with open arms?" Gibson asked as he stood back and examined the door,

"No, but the way he was taunting us I expected to at least be let in." Gidget responded with a slight hint of attitude in her voice while halfheartedly kicking the door.

"You will soon learn not to expect Skeleton King to do anything _you_ expect him to." Gibson responded with an eye roll. He looked at the door a moment more before snapping his fingers. "Ah ha, that's what he intends for us to do."

"What do we need to do to get in?" Chiro asked while holding the off the Formless from swarming them.

"This whole door is just for looks," Gibson explained as he tapped a knuckle against the door. "There is no real seam to separate the doors, we have to make our own."

"Guys, not to rush you or anything," Sparx said as he held back the Formless, "But we aren't exactly sitting around and sipping lemonade on the front porch right now, could you hurry this up?" Gibson sighed and drilled a small hole into the middle of the door and asked Gidget for one of her Boom Bombs.

"Alright then," Gibson said as he lit the bomb. "Sparx I suggest you make a force field to protect us from the blast." For once Sparx complied with no smart remark and made a Magno-Field Shield around the team just as the door was blown to bits. Debris rained down on the Formless unfortunate enough to be close to the door when it exploded.

"That was unorthodox." Gidget remarked to Gibson as the team rushed inside. "For a man of Science I mean."

"Unorthodox is sometimes the best route to accomplishing your goals." Gibson replied with a smirk. As the team made it inside, Gidget turned around and shot two Boom Bombs at the pillars beside the door, causing them to crumbled into large chunks and successfully block the only exit, and keep Formless from getting in.

"What was the point in that?" Nova asked as they ran down an overly sized hall. "We don't have an escape route now."

"The way I see it;" Gidget said as the team slowed to a steady jog. "Either we beat the Skeleton King and won't need a quick exit, or we don't come out at all." Sparx and Gibson both looked back at Gidget in the same suspicious manner. They notice the stare each one of them gave her and then gave each other a quick glance. Nova caught all of this, maybe she wasn't the only one having suspicious thoughts about Gidget? Nova shook her head kept running, saying nothing and keeping focused on the task at hand.

"Does anyone know where we are going?" Chiro suddenly asked as the team took a corner.

"Well what usually happens is we keep running until we get to a big room," Sparx said slightly sarcastically. "Then Skeleton King appears and-" The team ran into an eminence throne room and appraised their surroundings.

"Like this?" Gidget asked as they looked around.

"Yeah, usually like this." Sparx said. "But I don't see S.K. hanging around any where."

"Don't jinx us." Nova said transforming her hands. "It's too quiet in here guys." The team followed her lead and transformed their own hands, and took their battle stances.

"Why don't you come closer, Monkey Team?" Skeleton Kings voice beckoned from the shadows.

"Naw, we're fine here." Otto said as he moved protectively closer to Gidget. "We prefer the light."

"Really," He said hissing his words. "I insssssssist." He stepped out in front of them in his new, boney glory. "It will be your last stay on this planet." He made a sweeping motion with his hand and the floor beneath the team's feet disappeared.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Chiro said as they started to descend into the dark void. The Team quickly activated their jet packs and flew back up the shaft.

"You really think that will stop us?" Nova asked smiling as they ascended the tunnel. "We do have jet packs, you know."

"Oh yes," the Skeleton King said scratching his chin and grinning manically. "I forgot about those. Let me get that for you." He made a crunching motion with his hand and suddenly the team's packs stopped working.

"When did he learn to do that?!" Sparx yelled as they fell down again, this time with no way to get stop themselves.

"Beats me!" Chiro replied as he saw that the tunnel suddenly divided into three separate shafts.

"Everyone we must try to stay together!" Antauri yelled as he grabbed Chiro by the back of the shirt. Sparx quickly grabbed Nova hand and Gibson's tail while Otto and Gidget instinctively wrapped their own tails together and Gidget held her other hand out to Gibson.

"Grab on!" She yelled as Gibson hesitantly a moment in reaching his hand out to hers.

"Nova!" Chiro yelled as he held his hand out to her and she stretched as far as she could to grab him, just missing by mere inches as the dividing walls separated the Hyper force into 3 teams. Chiro and Antauri fell down the left-most shaft, Sparx, Nova, and Gibson the middle and Gidget and Otto the far right.

"Team!" Chiro yelled as he watched them disappear past the wall of his shaft, and into the waiting darkness.

* * *

Well that was interesting and cliché to say the least, though I like how this chapter came out, for once. What is in the future for Gidget? I'm not telling, but you might be surprised for what I have in store. Just don't always listen to the paranoia agent. Well, I just saw that my epic Author note at the end of the last Chapter didn't show up, so here you go:

**More Action Soon!**

**This is one of my favorite sub-plots, that the Super Robot is more than he seems at first.** _(Still is, and sadly one of the things least explored in the universe for one of my favorite underdog characters.)_** Alright guys I need your help, I write this thing for you guys so I need to know, do you want me to continue this story after this battle? I can make it go for about 2 more Books but I need your feed back. If you don't want to have to read that much, fine. I'll make the story end in the next couple of chapters, but if you want me to continue I'll need to know that people will read. This is not to punish you guys, I think you are some of the most devoted fans one could ask for, its just I'm just going off to college soon so I need to know if you guys will hang around if I write this instead of get ready for school in the fall.**_ (Funny how things like that come back too us, huh? Three years later and I'm pretty much in the same boat, ha.)  
_

**I won't make a bad ending I just could do so much more with this story if given the incentive to work. Like I said, I love you guys and I need to give a shout out to my Subscribers: Kqmagicgirl, Mizz Brainiac, Emeraldshard, and antaurilover685. You guys Rock!** _(You girls are still awesome if you are reading this btw.)_ **Your comments get me through the day, you have no idea how much they make me want to write this story for you. Thanks and just tell me what you want me to do. Love you guys and see you next week!**

***Edit: And I made a poll where you can answer if you're to busy to leave a comment.**

That was it, go to my Profile to see the poll. Till next time!

_(__I'm starting to realize an unfortunate tendency I have to write Gibson as a snobbish jerk, which is bad cause I actually really like him as a character. I think he is a ton of fun to write for, especially with his interactions with the rest of his team. I wish there was a way to fix this but really there's no way to avoid when he really honestly isn't suppose to like Gidget at all. So yeah I'll go ahead and apologize for making him out to be a jerk, I'm not really meaning to, that's just how his is with Gidget right now unfortunately. Luckily once their relationship improves he will stop coming off as such a jerk and I can stop feeling like he's wildly OoC. I don't know, he kinda acts like this when he doesn't like someone in the show, maybe it's just because every time we've seen him so far in this fic, Gidget's been around to spoil his mood, that I feel like everyone is gonna think I hate the poor guy when I really don't. Ah well time to get over it and on to the next chapter.)  
_


	10. Ch 10 Separation

New chapter! Filled with falling fun! YAY!

* * *

Genesis sighed as she quickly typed orders into the computer for the other squads. While she could handle sending out basic commands; move here, join them, look behind you; there was no one telling her formations anymore. Even after the team had left to fight hand-to-hand, Antauri and Chiro had kept in contact through the communicators and told her what to do next and helping her lead the teams. But no one was replying now.

She couldn't keep this farce up forever, she had neither the skills nor knowledge to lead an army, but she would still do all she could to help them. She had to try her best for the team. She cast a worried glance at the gigantic bone castle that her new family had disappeared into and she silently prayed they would be okay, because at this point it was the only thing she could do.

Antauri and Chiro were currently busy falling down their rabbit hole while Genesis fretted over them.

"Nova!" Chiro screamed in disbelief as the team disappeared. "Antauri, what are we going to do?"

"First we have to slow ourselves down." He replied as he used his claw to grab on to the side of the shaft. The sound was horrendous, a thousand nails scraping across a black board, as they slid to a stop with a few precious inches of the tunnel left. Antauri sighed in relief and looked down. They were hanging about ten feet from the floor and had come out in a large, dimly lit room. The walls dripped ooze and a horrible green light crawled along the floor as an unimaginable stench came from everywhere, like the smell of a hundred rotting corpses.

"What is this place?" Chiro asked as a shiver ran through him.

"A place of death." Antauri said as he looked around them. "I sense no good here. Come," he said as he let them drop safely to the ground and he headed for the first exit he saw, "let us leave this place of hate and fear." Chiro nodded and walked beside his second in command.

"Antauri," Chiro said after they left the room, "The others aren't all together, are they?"

"No, they were separated too." Antauri confirmed and then after a beat, "Are you worried about Gidget and Otto being alone?"

"No," Chiro answered looking around at the bowels of the castle, "I'm actually worried because Nova, Sparx and Gibson are all in the same group with no one to mediate."

.::~::.

Sparx, Nova, and Gibson yelled as they fell through the darkness. "What are we going to do now?!" Nova asked as they descended at an alarming speed.

"I suggest we slow our velocity!" Gibson yelled back in response as he flailed around trying to slow his descent.

"I can do that!" Sparx yelled, "Everyone hold on to me tight!" Nova and Gibson looked at each other only a moment in hesitation before gripped Sparx's shoulders tightly. Sparx turned his hand into his magnets and used them to grab the metal sides of the shaft, causing them to halt so suddenly that Gibson and Nova almost lost their grip. "Now comes the fun part." Sparx said as he slowly began to grapple down the wall.

"Oh, couldn't you go faster?" Gibson teased as Sparx gasped for air.

"Yeah," He replied between breathes, "but it's called falling. So unless you want to climb down yourself, I would appreciate it if you kept you mouth shut."

"What if you controlled your transformer's magnetism and we slid the rest of the way down? That would be faster and you wouldn't get tired so quickly." Nova pointed out suddenly. The boys looked at her at moment, then to each other, and finally Sparx did exactly as she suggested.

"This is why I'm third in command guys." Nova said smiling, as they easily slid the rest of the way down. The end of the primary colored trio's shaft ended just above a catwalk. Below that? Black nothingness. Nova whistled as she leaned over the railing to get a look at the endless abyss.

"That's one heck of a drop." she said as she waited for the boys to drop down to the catwalk.

"If we had kept falling we might have missed this scaffolding entirely." Gibson pointed out as he joined her side.

"Well hurry up with your gawking and let's get going." Sparx said as he tightly gripped the railing before backing away from the edge as best he could. Nova noticed this and smirked.

"What?" She asked deviously while slowly walking towards him, "You, the Greatest Monkey Pilot in the Universe, surely can't be scared of heights, can you?" She covered up her mouth as she began to giggle.

"N-no!" Sparx answered shakily while crossing his arms in front of his chest in defiance.

"Wait," Gibson asked shaking his head and waving his hands, "Are you actually scared right now?"

"No, I'm a pilot, we're not afraid of heights." Sparx snapped back, but he didn't step any closer to the railing. "I'm just... uneasy about such a high up open area is all."

"You deal with heights greater than this everyday!" Nova pointed out, "What the difference?"

"I'm in a nice, secure, enclosed area when I'm flying." Sparx replied as he cautiously looked over the edge before shivering and pushing back again. "I don't feel safe here, I'm not in control."

"Control freak." Nova snorted as she turned to walk away. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." She said with a mocking tone. "Come on guys, let's go see if we can find the others. And I don't see any other way but down." Nova hooked a thumb over her shoulder and pointed to a staircase that gripped the slimy wall. Gibson snickered at Sparx and followed Nova with Sparx following disgruntle, frowning all the way.

.::~::.

"He, he was afraid of me…" Gidget said as she slowly pulled her outstretched hand back to her and clutched it tightly to her chest.

"What?" Otto asked as he laid back as they continued their quick fall into the pitch black darkness.

"He wouldn't grab my hand." Gidget said as she turned towards Otto, "He was too scared to-" She looked as Otto appeared to be lounging on thin air. "What are you doing?" she asked, her eyesight working just enough for her to see him relaxing with his hands behind his head.

"We can't stop our fall, might as well get comfortable." Otto said with a shrug as the darkness finally enveloped him completely and hid him from view.

"I don't really know if that's the best thing to do right-" Gidget started to say as they both slammed into the ground at high speeds. Bright stars flashed through their heads, then everything went dark.

.::~::.

"Antauri do you feel that?" Chiro asked suddenly as he felt a chill sweep through him and he gave a quick shiver.

"Yes, I believe we have company." his mentor said as he readied his claws for battle. A group of 5 Formless appeared from around the corner, all of them carrying swords.

"Lighting Kick!" Chiro yelled as he jumped towards them. His foot hit the Formless's chest harmlessly and it grabbed his leg, swinging him into a wall. Antauri let a low growl escape his throat as he jumped at the Formless who had grabbed Chiro and sliced him in half. Antauri landed in a crouch on the ground behind him and looked at the other Formless with fire in his eyes, and they spilt quickly from fear.

Antauri stood up and walked over to his young student reaching his hand out to him. "Are you alright, Chiro?" He asked as he helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said dusting himself off. "That was weird. Why didn't my attack do anything to him?"

"I don't know." Antauri answered truthfully while stroking his chin. "It can't be a good sign though."

"Well let's go before they bring more of their friends around." Chiro said hooking his thumb over his shoulder, Antauri nodded and they ran down another hallway. Antauri tried to think of all the reasons why their attacks wouldn't work when suddenly a Formless that looked like a bloated watermelon appeared in front of them and raised its arm to try and squash them. Antauri jumped in front of Chiro to tried to protect him. He jumped up at the monster and activated his ghost claws, ready to strike... just to have them deactivate just before Antauri touch the monster.

"What?" He yelled as his claw only sunk in to the monster. He looked up at the Formless and offered a weak smile in apology just as it smacked him away like an annoying fly.

"Hey!" Chiro yelled as he jumped at the monster. He tried to do a lighting kick again, but there was still no power behind it and he just kick uselessly in frustration. The Formless raised its arm slowly to smack Chiro down, but the human did a quick back flip off of its stomach and got an idea. He sprung off the floor and poked his fingers deep into its eyes. The monster grabbed its face and began to jump from one foot to the other in pain as Chiro used this time to scoop up Antauri and run as fast as he could away.

"It's all right, Chiro." Antauri said after they had run a good distance away from Skeleton King's minion. "I can walk on my own now."

"Okay, good." Chiro said as he set him down. "What the heck is going on around here? What happened to our powers?"

"I fear that Skeleton King might have done more to us than just stop our jet packs from working." Antauri said wearily while shaking his head from side to side.

"Do you mean…" Chiro said trialing off, he didn't want to finish the thought.

"Yes, I fear he might have taken our access to the Power Primate away too." Antauri finished grimly.

"But that's impossible!" Chiro protested as he shook his head in disbelief. "Surely he can't do that, can he?" He asked unsure.

"I don't know." Antauri said as they tried to find a place to collect their thoughts. "That's what worries me. Chiro can you feel the Power Primate at all?"

"What? Of course I can-" Chiro stopped and thought about it. He couldn't feel the normal warm glow of the power primate pulsing inside of him. This had never happened before, as long as he had known the Monkey team he had always felt its presence. Now? Nothing.

Antauri shook his head. "I can't even read your mind right now." The silver simian admitted.

"What?!" Chiro asked concerned. "That's not possible-" he stopped as it all finally started to sink in how much trouble they were truly in.

.::~::.

Gidget slowly tried to open her eyes and couldn't quite force herself to do it, everything just hurt too much. She groaned while rubbing her head, Where was she? She couldn't see anything and everything throbbed with pain. Finally, the memories actually clicked back into place, for once. She and Otto had fallen down a tunnel and must have gotten knocked out by the fall and... Wait, where was Otto? Gidget turned her head and squinted into the dim green light that surrounded her, and saw Otto's body laying lifelessly on the floor about five feet away from her.

"Otto." She called softly, but didn't get a response. "Otto?" She asked a little more concerned now, and she was able to push herself up and limp over to his motionless body. "Otto!" she practically screamed as she shook him harshly. No response, she gasped and quickly checked for a pulse. Suddenly he snored loudly and she let out a sigh of relief. He must have hit his head pretty hard in the fall, probably had a few circuits loose too, but he was just out cold and alive and that was all that mattered to Gidget.

She smiled and took in her surroundings. They were in a small, bare room, it was dark and the only light source came from the only exit she saw. She stood up and looked down at Otto's unconscious body. She couldn't leave him here and she had to go looking for the team, even if it was apparent they didn't want anything to do with her. She sighed and grabbed Otto's hands, hoisting him up onto her back and adjusted him so she could carry him by holding on to his arms. His feet touched the floor lightly and he weighed just as much as Gidget. She wouldn't be able fight with him on her back, and she definitely couldn't run away easily like this, but at least she could carry him around. She would just have to hope they didn't run into any more of those big Gooeyies while looking and hope that they found the team soon. She readjusted Otto so he would be a bit more comfortable when he woke up, and headed for the door.

.::~::.

Sparx tried his best to stick close to the wall while they walked down the staircase, Gibson looked back and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Shut up Brain Strain." Sparx said as he clenched his teeth and glared at him.

"Oh, come on Sparx," Gibson said with a smirk, "you annoy me all the time, this is simply pay back." Sparx was about to make a smart remark when he spotted something on the wall. An evil smirk started to crawled across his face.

"Nova, can I inquire something from you?" Gibson asked as he jogged to catch up to her.

"Sure, what?" She asked as they stopped on the stairs to talk.

"Do you happen to know where we are going?" Gibson asked while tapping his fingers together.

"No, but considering this was the only way we could go…" She threw her hands up in the air and waited for him to suggest something different.

"Oh well this is just wonderful, _third-in-command." _He said as he crossed his arms and sighed. "How are we going to find the others at this rate?"

"Look Gibson," Nova said turning to head down again, "Unless you see another way to go, I don't want to hear any lip from you. Besides, I'm sure everyone will be okay until we get there."

"Except for Otto." Gibson mumbled to himself. Nova stopped and looked back at him.

"Are you getting a weird vibe from Gidget too?" She asked, he nodded while scratching his chin

"I was just thinking about how convenient everything with Gidget was. It just doesn't seem probable that we would find her without some greater outside force controlling us. Or her." He added quickly.

"Do you think she's oblivious to the force that might be controlling her, or do you think she knows what she's doing and tricking us?"

Gibson shook his head. "I don't know honestly, but I have a very real, bad feeling about her. That's actually why I couldn't reach out and grab her hand when we were falling."

"If your suspicion is true, I don't know how I feel about her being alone with Otto then." Nova said wrapping her arms around her.

"I fear for his safety too-" Gibson started when Sparx suddenly popped up behind him.

"Hey Gibby look what I have!" Sparx interrupted, shoving his fist in between Nova and Gibson.

"What is it Sparx?" Gibson started when he felt something big, warm, and slimy hit his chest. He slowly looked down and saw a huge, repugnant bug crawling closer to his face. "Ughh!" Gibson screamed as he tried to smack it off his chest and Sparx held his sides from laughter. "Get it off!" Gibson snapped as he took a step back.

"That's pay back for making fun of my fear of heights!" Sparx yelled while laughing harder.

"Oh real mature, Sparx." Nova said with her hands on her hips. "And I thought it wasn't the height that bothered you but the fact that you 'weren't in control' or whatever." Nova said sarcastically as Gibson kept walking backwards while trying to wipe the bug off, when he suddenly lost his footing and tumbled backwards off of the staircase they were on.

"Gibson!" Nova and Sparx yelled in unison as they watched him disappear over the edge.

.::~::.

Gidget was beginning to get really tired. She had been walking for who knows how long, Otto was still conked out, and she hadn't found any sign of the team yet so she finally had to stop and rest for a minute. She sat Otto gently on the floor and slid down the wall beside of him. She began to worry if he really was hurt badly so, she rolled him over on his side and checked his circuitry again. It wasn't in that bad of condition, in fact his automatic repair system should have it fixed itself in just a couple more minutes. She sighed again and tried to see if she could connect with anyone, not that it was like anyone was looking for her thought. She could read their faces, they were afraid of her, and she didn't know why. She had tried being nice, tried being friendly, but they still couldn't trust her. To be honest she was kinda getting sick of it.

"This is just like every other time." She said as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "Wait," She said out loud again and lifting her head. _Every other time? What am I talking about?_ She had a faint feeling, like a feather brushing the back of her mind, like she had experienced this all before. Like… "They didn't accept me before…" She said sadly before shaking her head vigorously. What was she talking about? "Who didn't accept me?!" She screamed into the darkness while grabbing her head in frustration.

"I know who '_they_' are." A voice said sedately from the corner. Gidget snapped her head up and quickly scanned for the owner, finding him leaning in a corner hidden by shadows. She hadn't noticed him when she sat down.

"Who are you?" She asked as she stood up and moved protectively in front of the unconscious Otto. The voice seemed familiar, like it was from a dream, or actually more like a nightmare.

"Oh you could call me an 'old comrade' I suppose." It said as it stepped from the shadows. Gidget's breath caught in her throat and wouldn't budge.

"Hello, Gidget." Mandarin said as he stepped from the dark recesses of the hall.

* * *

CLIFFHANGERS!

Don't you hate those? _(Only when obnoxious writers point them out like no one else does them.) _All right then you guys tell me who you want to hear from first in the next chapter, anyone is an option! And before you guys freak out, yes I know that Sparx still has his powers, and Antauri and Chiro don't but I have a point to it, it 'should' get explained in the next chapter, or the one after that; I'll tell you when I know. _(Instead of just letting you read for yourself, let me take all the suspense away.)_ You can still vote in my poll and tell me if you think I should keep doing this story. Now if you're getting bored with it and you want me to hurry up and make a happy ending I will.

But I think if you and I stick around this thing could be pretty awesome. Eh, you tell me what I should do. Till next time, Kiddies!

_(This chapter was one of the ones that needed more work, mostly in the pacing of the story. Before I edited it was filled with 2 paragraphs of story then it switched suddenly to another point of view and so it had lines every few sentences and looked rather messy. Should read better now though.)_


	11. Ch 11 Wrath

Heh, well I guess we should check up on our heroes… This ch. gets a little bit gory and has some language _(Which has now been taken out cause... it's just kinda weird seeing characters in a kids' program cruse. It's not even that I personally have a problem with language, it's just it kinda takes you out of the story when these characters use language that's pretty obviously not usually in their vocabulary_. _I'll still might use some milder language when the moment arises, but it will be used sparingly._) I told you this was rated T for a reason _(That reason is now violence cause I have no problem with describing people getting stomachs cut open, but hearing them say "Bastard" makes me squeamish_.) I blame the fact I was reading a zombie novel while working on this chapter for why it gets to graphic.

Oh and I have started to put little dots in between scene changes, there were too many lines in the last chapter. _(I've actually gone back and edited all chapters to reflect this change, yay retroactive editing!)_

* * *

Genesis ran around the Robot in a frenzy, she was starting to worry about the team and getting anxious because she was starting to realize that she really had no clue what to do anymore. She had sent a message out to Jinmay asking her to come back and aid her in directing the troops, but she was too far away and too busy with her own demons to come and rescue her right now. It seemed that Genesis was on her own until the team came back.

Things were not looking too good for the Skeleton King Resistance Force at the moment either, all the squads were starting to get fatigued. More and more Formless were appearing and it seemed like the enemy supply was endless. For every monster they attacked and killed, it seemed two more took its place. Genesis didn't know what to tell the squads anymore, she couldn't lead this many people at once. She was running from one terminal to the other when she suddenly tripped and fell flat on her face. Genesis just laid there a minute, not daring to move; she was far too tired, too stretched and just so scared, How was she suppose to do this on her own? She felt so helpless and small in that moment.

Finally she did put her hands under her chest and pushed up. Gidget would not lay around doing nothing, she would have at least tried and make a difference and Genesis couldn't let her down. She got to her feet under her and walked over to the computer terminal, sighed heavily and looked up. There was a simple message on the screen:

_Do not worry, I'll help you the best I can._

Genesis stared at it in silent awe for a moment before she noticed new instructions being given out to the army, and they were good instructions too, she could have never thought them up on her own. She smiled and gave a silent thank you to the Super Robot for helping her.

.::~::.

Gidget looked at the mutated freak that was standing in front of her. He barely looked like the Mandarin from Otto's memory, he was sickly, menacing; the air around him held a feeling of resentment and repulsion, and Gidget still felt the hate boil over inside of her.

"What do you want?" She spat through gritted teeth while transforming her hands into her guns and taking a defensive stance. She would never let him hurt Otto again.

"Oh calm down, Gidget." Mandarin said as he stood in front of her casually, holding a hand up passively as if he was just dropping by to say hello. He started to walk towards her and in a blur the barrel of her gun was pointed at his head. "Well now, is this how you greet everyone?" He asked with a chuckle. "No wonder no one on the Hyper Force likes or trusts you."

Gidget gave a deep, primordial growl. "Don't try to play nice with me." Gidget said viciously, then added after a beat, "How do you know my name?"

"Well the Skeleton King likes to make notes to learn all he can about his enemies. As well as possible allies." Mandarin said with a wicked grin.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Gidget asked uneasily, she glanced down at Otto to make sure he was still unconscious, unfortunately he was. "Darn it, come on Otto." Gidget muttered under her breath before returning her attention to Mandarin.

"Let's not worry about the little details now." Mandarin continued with an evil smirk and pacing slowly in front of Gidget. "Everything will be reviled in time. But yes, I know quite a bit about you." He looked casually at his one good hand. "I know about you, your sister, and your..." He clicked his tongue as he tried to think of the word. "_I__nteresting_ powers. I suspect they are the reason you know my name." He began to stride in front of Gidget, the barrel of her gun carefully following him.

"And whom did you steal the memories from?" He asked with a smirk, but Gidget did not reply, instead choosing to watch him with fury in her eyes. "It could have been Nova's." He continued nonchalance while strolling past her calmly. "Your ferocity is in par with hers. Or perhaps it was Antauri, you seem to have enough control over your feelings to not immediately attack me…" He quickly turned around and Gidget tensed up. He smiled curtly and looked down at Otto, forcing her to cocked her gun. "Oh I see," Mandarin's grin grew wider, "It was dear, sweet, _stupid_ Otto." Gidget's growl grew more guttural as he insulted her friend. "That explains so much, it's not that you won't hurt me, it's that you can't. You have Otto's feeling towards me, you don't have the heart to kill me." Gidget was growing tired of his crap, she swung her left arm up and fired, but Mandarin quickly dodged the bullet and was in front of Gidget in the blink of an eye.

"Well that was interesting." He said with an evil chortle. Gidget started to move her right arm to shoot him but he grabbed it tightly in his claw. She started to move her left one again but he quickly snatched that one too and pinned her against the wall. Gidget did the only thing she could think of on short notice and drew her head back before swinging it forward to headbutt him as hard as she could. His skull flipped back an unnatural angle before he simply cracked it back into place with a quick head flip. While Gidget had a violent headache, it seemed that Mandarin barely even flinch from the attempt to hurt him.

"Well that was just sad." Mandarin as he slung Gidget across the hallway and smiled as she hit the floor and let out a yelp. She could hear a sick crack as her still wounded ribs finally broke, her injuries still fresh from the fall. "And here I thought you were a regular chatter box. What's the problem? Monkey got your tongue?" Mandarin asked in a cruel voice as he started to lean over Otto's limp body.

"Don't you touch him!" Gidget screeched as she lifted up her arm and fired on Mandarin.

.::~::.

Sparx and Nova dove for Gibson in unison. Sparx managing to grab Gibson's leg and Nova managing to wrap her tail around Sparx's hips while she transformed her hands and grabbing the ledge of the staircase. They hung suspended for a few seconds before everyone sighed in relief. Gibson looked down and saw the bug was still sitting on his chest, and quickly grabbed it in disgust before throwing it into the dark abyss below him, or above if you used his perspective.

"Was that really necessary Sparx?" He asked turning angrily to this red companion.

"Well I didn't think you were going to go ballistic and walk off the side of the stairs!" Sparx and Gibson argued while Nova tried to pull them all back up onto the staircase. She propped one of her arms up and pulled herself to ground level just as two Formless came running straight towards them from both directions. It would only take a minute for them to reach the trio.

"Uh, guys we have company." She said nervously.

"What kind of company exactly" Gibson asked while trying to get a look at the incoming enemies.

"Formless." Nova gasped as she tried to pull herself up, but kept losing her grip on the loose soil that made up the stairs.

"What?!" Sparx asked exasperated as he turned up towards Nova, his grip on Gibson leg shifted a little. "What are we going to do- " Sparx started to asked as Gibson slipped from his grasp completely. "Whoops." He said as he scrambled to grab Gibson tail and barely succeeded.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Gibson asked angrily as he was spun around to face the wall. He was about to retort further, when he spotted the grate. It was a simple passage way, probably used to help air circulation throughout the castle. "What's this?" he asked intrigued while trying to get closer to it, "I say, Sparx could you _delicately _swing me to the wall?" Sparx complied and he reached out to the bars for purchase. Grabbing it, Gibson peered in saw that it would be just big enough to fit them if they crouched.

"What do you got there, Brain Strain?" Sparx asked as he tried to figure out what gears were turning in Gibson's mind.

"A way for us to escape, I believe." Gibson said as he transformed his hand into a drill so he could unscrew the grate.

"Well could you hurry up please?" Nova asked concerned as she watched the Formless closing in, "We don't exactly have all day here, you know." She glanced up and saw that to Formless would be to them any second.

"Almost…" Gibson said as he detached the last screw. "Got it!" He yelled triumphantly as he pulled the grate off and crawled inside. He stuck his head back out and reached for Sparx's hand. "Nova, let go now!" Gibson yelled as he grabbed Sparx and pulled as hard as he could. Nova let go just as the Formless reached them, and Gibson went tumbling backwards as Sparx and Nova flew into the small opening in the wall. They all sighed with relief when they saw they had made the escape.

"That was a close one." Sparx said while rubbing his head.

"Yeah, let's not do anything like that again, ever." Nova said as she sat up. "Where are we?" She asked looking around.

"Not a clue." Gibson said as he got on his hands and knees. "Care to explore? There is only one way for us to go now." Sparx shrugged and made enough room so Nova could crawl in front of him. Gibson headed to expedition, followed closely by Nova with Sparx bringing up the rear.

.::~::.

"Antauri how are we going to defeat the Skeleton King without our powers?" Chiro asked as they hid in small room, they had to gather their thoughts and make a plan before moving any deeper into the castle.

"We need to find the rest of the team and see if they too are affected by this phenomenon too." Antauri said while crossing his legs and attempting to meditate. "But first I need to see if I can find Genesis and tell her what's going on, she has been leading our armies with no guidance for far to long." He tapped his communicator to see if he could contact her that way, but did not even receive dead static as a response. Antauri sighed as he sad down closed his eyes and searched for Genesis's personal signature, but was getting nothing. He growled loudly in frustration. "I cannot contact through mechanical or mental pathways it seems. We need to find Gidget and see if she still has her clairvoyant powers." Antauri said discouragingly. "It's the only way for us to get through to Genesis and tell her what to do. Our forces can't survive long with a child leading them."

"Um, doesn't a child usually lead them anyways?" Chiro asked sheepishly while pointing to himself and smiling. Antauri looked at him a moment, he had forgotten Chiro was still a child himself. After all the battles they had seen, after all the fights and death, he had forgotten how young Chiro really was.

The silver primate smiled and chuckled a little bit. "I suppose you're right." He replied standing up. "I guess they will be fine on their own a little while longer. They will have to be." An audible scraping sound abruptly came from above them.

"What is that?" Chiro whispered as he and Antauri took defensive stances. The second-in-command shook his head before replying.

"I don't know but we're about to find out."

.::~::.

Gidget watched as a hole tore through Mandarin's midsection and looked in wonder as he grabbed his side with his one good hand and winced in pain and a dark substance started to leak through his claw like fingers.

"Well that was rude." he spat through gritted teeth, then he started to cry. At least that's what it looked like to Gidget, he began to shake uncontrollably and gagging sounds came from his throat. She quickly scrambled to get up when she realized that it was actually laughter. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" he asked as he removed his hand from his side and Gidget saw what she originally mistook for blood, was actually a black goop. It poured out of him in rivulets as Gidget backed away quickly, she suddenly had a strong desire to vomit. It reminded her of what the Formless looked like after they were defeated by Nova's Boom Boom Waka, this thought did not settle her raging stomach.

"What are you?" She asked in a tiny, horrified voice as she began to back away, but then stopped. He was still beside Otto. Mandarin paid no attention to her as he began to cackle and looked at the black disease that covered his hand before raising it to his mouth to wipe away a small stream of ooze that crept from the corner of it.

"A monster," he whispered to her in an ominous voice. "And your worst nightmare." He launched himself at her, raising his arm as he soared through the air. Gidget quickly tried to scrambled and move out of his way but she reacted a second too late, and he landed painfully against her left shoulder, pinning her against the wall. It fell limp at her side, and she looked down at it in horror, there was no way she could fight with that arm now. She looked slowly back up at Mandarin and began to tremble in fear, seeing her show of weakness, he began to grin evilly. Gidget grabbed her useless arm and pulled it close to her side while cowering in fear from the orange monstrosity.

"Let me make a deal with you." Mandarin said as he slowly got to his feet. "I'll let you go right now, you can leave. In fact, I'll even tell you how to get out of this dungeon." He stood to one side of the tunnel and pointed with his outstretched arm. It took everything in Gidget not to darted down it immediately, so instead she just smiled wanly at him and started to move slowly across the wall.

"All you have to do is leave Otto behind for me." Gidget stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to look down at Otto. He was laying peacefully on his side, oblivious to what was happening around him. Gidget turned back towards Mandarin and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Not in this lifetime, you freak of nature." She snapped at him while pointing her one good gun at him and trying to take the most threatening stance she could.

Mandarin simply smiled viciously, "It's your funeral then." He leaped at her again and Gidget closed her eyes and shot. Her bullet glazed his side, making another ragged hole for his ooze to pour out of, but he didn't even slow down or seem to notice the wound. He slammed his full weight against her again and she was pinned again in between the wall and the monstrosity the was literally dripping with evil. She tried to bring her gun up to his chin, maybe she could finally destroy him with a head shot, but as any good gunslinger will tell you, it is all but impossible to make a point-blank shot from the waist. But before she had even gotten the arm up, he used his one good hand to grabbed it and pinned it against her chest. The barrel was now positioned directly under her own chin.

"You wouldn't take my offer to run so maybe you'll take this one." Mandarin said as his arm gripped painfully down on the barrel. "You end this all now, get it over with, if you continue to fight me I will make you watch as I kill Otto slowly and then you will be tortured to death, me savoring every single one of your squeals of pain and cries of mercy." Gidget looked into his eyes but said nothing. She struggled against his grip, but he just squeezed harder, much more pressure on it and her firearm might actually break. "You would feel almost no pain taking your own life," He continued, leaning close to her face, "compared to what Otto's going to experience that is. There is no reason for both of you to suffer too much." He attempted to smiled, but the black goo that now covered his unnaturally sharpened teeth just made the end result look horrendous. "Otto would want it this way." He whispered quietly, his hot breath making it all but impossible to breathe. Gidget mouth seemed to be filled to the brim with cotton, she had to dry swallowed a few times before managing an answering.

"No thanks." She said weakly, coughing from the pressure of her gun pressed against her chest. "I would rather die a hero and a friend than as a deserter or a weakling, Traitor." She spat in Mandarin's face, his eyes erupting with hate at the personal jab, but his still smiled dripped contempt.

"Have it your way." He whispered as he crushed Gidget's gun in his claw and it shattered to pieces. She shrieked in pain and fell limp with despair against the wall. Gidget sent out a silent pray, she apologizing for not being strong enough to save them and that it wouldn't hurt Otto too much and Mandarin activated his lazer saber and slowly crept towards her.

.::~::.

Sparx grumbled as they made their way through the extremely stuffy pipe. "Do you see an end to this stupid tunnel, Gibson?" Sparx asked as they trudged along through the gloom. At some point the stone passage had turned into a metal one and had gotten particularly warm with three cybernetic monkeys crawling through it.

"Don't you think that would be one of the first things I told you if I saw it?" Gibson snapped back while wiping a thin layer of sweat from his brow.

"Guys it's way to cramp and stuffy in here," Nova said sighing heavily, "for your two big heads to keep spouting out hot air."

"Well if Brain Stain would get a clue, we could have found the rest of the team by now!" Sparx's shout echoed loudly in the far too tiny space.

Gibson stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Sparx. "Are you honestly trying to blame all this on me?!" He asked shocked and appalled.

"Well you haven't been very enthusiastic about this mission, _Gibby._" Sparx snapped back.

"Sorry if I prefer having a plan to simply running head first into the universe's most important battle." Gibson retorted angrily.

"Will you two calm down?" Nova tried to interrupt both of them, as they heard a scrapping noise as the paneling underneath them gave way and they tumbled down through the ceiling...

And right in front of Antauri and Chiro.

"Nova! Sparx! Gibson!" Chiro yelled in delight as they plummeted to the ground. Gibson and Sparx landed first and Nova landed softly- for her- on top of them.

"Oh, hey Chiro." Nova said as she dusted herself off. "Look guys I found Chiro and Antauri."

"Wonderful." Sparx mumbled, his face plastered against the floor.

"Excellent." Gibson replied as he pushed himself up and cracked his back.

"We were just looking for you." Nova said happily as she hugged Chiro.

"And us you," Antauri said after a quick embrace from Nova. "But reunions will have to wait until later, I have a very serious question to ask you. Do any of you still have you powers?"

The trio looked at each other before replying. "Well, yeah." Sparx said sceptically, "Why wouldn't we?"

"Because me and Antauri can't use ours." Chiro said while shaking his head slowly.

"What do you mean you can't use yours?" Nova asked concerned and looking between the two.

"My hands will transform," Antauri explained quickly, "but I can neither use my ghost claws, nor read minds."

"And all the power has left my attacks." Chiro added. "How can you guys still have yours?"

"Well," Gibson thought for a moment. "I know that Sparx's and mine weapons are scientifically based and Nova's is brute force, while yours and Antauri's are infused with the Power Primate. It could be that has something to do with it, though since we don't yet know the status of Gidget's and Otto's, I can't be sure."

"We actually fear that the Skeleton King might have taken the Power Primate from us." Antauri said grimly.

"Well what are we going to do now?" Sparx asked looking among the team.

"I suggest we begin by trying to find Otto and-." Antauri started to say as a piercing screech interrupted him.

"What was that?" Nova asked while transforming her hands, ready to fight.

"I don't know," Chiro said, "But I have a feeling we won't like it when we find out, come on team." The entire team darted out of the small room they had been occupying and headed towards the scream.

.::~::.

Gidget was slung across the hallway and she landed with a hard thud beside Otto. She cowarded as Mandarin slowly strode towards her, saber raised to strike. Realizing he was aiming for Otto and not her though, she quickly slung herself over her green friend and laid there with her eyes closed, too afraid to move, when a yell ripped past her ears.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" She cautiously opened her eyes to see Nova running full speed at Mandarin with the rest of the team following close behind.

"Guys…" She said weakly smile and trying to force herself up when she caught Sparx's eye. He looked over and saw Gidget torn and broken, trying to push herself off the ground with her broken gun.

"Nice to see you will attack an unarmed girl." He said with more that a slight hint of sarcasm. "Pun partially intended."

"That joke sucked Sparx…" Gidget called softly while giggling weakly before breaking down into a fit of coughs. She felt darkness start to close in around her, when she saw movement in her peripheral vision.

"Well hello, Monkey Team," Mandarin said with a grin on his face, "I'm just introducing myself to your newest member."

"You sick monster." Gibson whispered as he looked over at Gidget and gasped. "What have you done to her?"

"Oh all that?" Mandarin said as he motioned back towards Gidget but didn't bother to review his work. "I'm just breaking her in that's all, nothing to get your tail in a bunch over-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO GIDGET?!" a voice screamed from behind Mandarin. He turned around slowly to see Otto leaning over Gidget while examining at her wounds with a look of concern on his face. His hand was lightly resting on her cheek while his other carefully turned her broken arm this way and that and she looked up at him, smiling brightly.

"Oh, nice to see you again Otto." Mandarin said, trying to act calm and moving towards the couple with open arms. Otto looked up and without a word, shot one of his saws straight at him, no one even saw him transform his hand. It slid neatly into Mandarin's stomach and stuck there with a horrid plop. Mandarin grabbed the saw and began to laugh harshly, "Do you honestly think this will stop me? I am immortal! You will never be able to defeat me!" He began to laugh manically and pull the saw out when he abruptly stopped. Antauri stood behind him with his claw out and slammed deeply into the back of Mandarin's head. Mandarin's form seemed to wobble for a moment before finally dissolved into an unrecognizable puddle on the ground.

"That's just gross." Sparx said as everyone stood around silently and Otto retracted his saw.

"Glad to see you guys are all okay." a weak voice finally spoke up. They all turned and looked down at Gidget seeing what kind of condition she truly was in. Otto leaned down to inspect how bad the damage was.

"Gidget what happened?" He asked concerned while lifting up her limp arm. "You're in worst condition that when you _crashed a spaceship. _Your right hand is shattered and can you even move you left one? "

"I guess I have a track record as good as Gibson's now." She said while smiling, before she broke into another fit of coughing. Otto tried to put her in to a sitting position but finally settled on a leaning one against the wall.

"Take it easy," He said as the team began to circle around her.

"Gidget, are you okay?" Nova asked as she gently held her useless hand between both of hers.

"More or less," Gidget replied with a weak smile, "I sound worse that I look, promise."

"Well you both sound and look like scrap there, Giggles." Sparx said he inspected her ruined arm. "Man, your handgun is toast."

"I can make a new one," Gidget said simply while trying to stand up, "if Otto and Gibby wouldn't mind helping me, that is."

"Of course not." Gibson said softly while leaning down to help Otto appraise the damage done. "It's the least I could do for not grabbing you two sooner and saving you from an encounter with that..." he looked over at the puddle on the floor that use to be one of their greatest enemies. "Thing." Gidget shrugged in response.

"Forget about it Gibby," She said offering a smile. "I seriously doubted you would wish that fate on me. Help me fix my gun and maybe make some new weapons for it and we'll call it even."

"We need to get you back to the robot first." Otto said as he wrapped an arm around Gidget's waist and helped her into a sort of standing position.

"I told you it's not that bad…" Gidget started to say before she trailed off as her eyes went dark and lifeless.

"Gidget!" Everyone screamed in unison as she fell against the wall and slid down it.

* * *

Omigosh! Gidget is dying and you guys are the only ones who can save her! _(Oh God, not this again.) _Someone help me I'm creating drama! _(Two exclamation marks, really? Oh God why.)_ Damn these cliché plot bunnies, they're trying to create suspense! Someone stop them! _(No, stop ruining every suspenseful thing you write!)_

Otto: You can! _(Oh God did I add dialog between me and the characters too? Sweet Lord no.)_

Gidget: Why are you trying to kill me off!? _(NO ONE BELIEVES I WAS GOING TO KILL YOU OFF. STOP IT.)_

Me: Because people always say 'listen to the plot bunnies'. Should I? _(Wait, am I retroactively arguing with myself now? Sonofa-)_

Monkey Team: NO!

Me: Oh what should I do? R&R please! _(You should stop this retroactive embarrassment immediately.)_

Gidget: Someone save me! She's gonna kill me! _(No, I'm gonna kill past self for adding this stupid bull- No stop being meta this instant this is just getting silly now.)_

_(Okay enough goofing off. In all seriousness, these moments of...awkward character interaction were a poor choice for narrative purposes, especially at a very serious and suspenseful part of the story. The upcoming points where I would completely break the flow of the story and the fourth wall to add in unneeded commentary were a worse one though. This is honestly something that when I was writing these I noticed a lot of other writers doing and I thought, 'hey, why not try it out?" And as I found out, you shouldn't because it's a horrible idea. Trust me when I say this, if you do this now: Stop. If you are want to be taken seriously, do not interact with your characters in the author's comments section. It's a whole lot of unfunny meta humor that is just regretful later in life. Trust me on this, 3 years later I'm regretting it.)  
_


	12. Ch 12 Second Voice

Great news! I defeated to plot bunnies and now we can get on with my normally light-hearted story!

Gidget: What about me?

Me: We'll get to you in a minute, one quick thing though. Thank you Kq, that comment on the last chapter me laugh my butt off! Now on with the show!

Gidget: What comment? *leaves*

Me: You get back here right now if you want to live! *Follows* _(I just...the amount of face palming I am doing right now is...ugh.)_

* * *

Otto grabbed Gidget by the shoulders and shook her violently. "Gidget! Gidget!" He screamed trying to wake her up.

"Ugh, wha-?" She asked confused as her eyes started to glow again and she shook her head violently. "What is it?" Everyone sighed in relief when they saw that she was okay.

"You scared us!" Nova said, "What was that all about?"

"Oh sorry, my body must have shut itself down to conserve energy." Gidget said while trying to stand up again, "I guess all that abuse my body took finally caught up with me." She tried to laugh but the movement hurt her already broken and bruised ribs too much. Otto gave her a short look and tried make her sit back down again, but she looked up at him with a smile. "I'm fine, now." She said standing up, but leaning heavily on him for support. "My automatic repair system will kick in soon and then I can get back to kicking Formless butt once we get my guns fixed."

"Not till after we get you checked out." Gibson said quickly while pressing a hand to her side, causing Gidget to winch loudly. "By the sound of that alone, I'm gonna be keeping you in sick bay for week."

"Gidget," Antauri quickly interrupted, "While I am glad you are okay, there is another pressing matter at hand. Have you been able to make any contact with Genesis?" Gidget slowly shook her head.

"I was about to try to see if I could reach her once I realized that our communicators must have gotten taken out along with our jet packs, but I got distracted by _him_ before I could." Gidget answered while motioning to the pile that had been Mandarin. "You haven't had contact with her either?" She asked worried while Otto was trying to fix her left arm and pinched a circuit. "Ow!" She shouted while wincing, "What was that for?"

"Just seeing if you could still feel it." Otto answered quickly. "Now hold still so I can get at least one your arms working."

"No," Antauri answered her, "I haven't been able to contact her through either channel, I can't even read your mind right now and you're only a foot away."

"What, that's crazy-?" Gidget started to say when she realized that she could not read Antauri's or anyone else's for that matter either. "How is that even possible?" She asked confused and concerned.

"We think Skeleton King might have taken the Power Primate away from us." Chiro explained quickly as Gidget sat down heavily. "Or maybe he blocked our access to it or something, we really don't know for sure."

"That doesn't make sense," Gidget explained while shaking. "How could he just take away something that is like your life force?" She bit her lip in frustration. "At least if I'm understanding the Power Primate correctly from what you told me about it." She sighed and leaned her head back to think. "Is everyone's connection to it gone?"

"No one had such a strong connection to it as me and Chiro did." Antauri explained while looking around at the rest of the team. Gidget sighed and closed her eyes and tried to find Genesis's presence, but she had no clue where her little sister even was, not even a direction to look in. But she did feel something faint on the edges of her conscience when she concentrated hard enough. It weaved in and out of her reach, like a green wisp that disappeared as soon as she tried to grab it. Suddenly she felt like she was being pulled towards something. She cleared her mind and decided to follow the only clue they had in this mystery.

Gidget's eyes were still closed so no one noticed them go dark again, but Otto felt her go limp. He turned his head slightly and shook her shoulder gently trying to wake her up again but she didn't feel a thing, she was being drawn towards the green light. She felt drenched in it, it simultaneously hurt and soothed, it burned and froze her, it calmed and agitated.

_What is this place?_ Gidget thought as the green power pulsed through her and she suddenly stopped, suspended in nothing.

_Hello Gidget, _a calm voice she didn't recognize said. It had a female tone to it and it suddenly felt like there was a warm presence next to Gidget's shoulder. _May I ask what brings you here?_

_I'm trying to find my sister._ Gidget thought outward. _Do you know how I can contact her? _She tried to turn and face her host but there was no one to turn to. Gidget started to murmur under her breath, but Otto still didn't know what she was doing but he thought it was best not to disturb her, so he just kept working on her arm while the rest of the team discussed the situation at hand.

_To contact your sister,_ the female voice explained with a calm voice, _you need to find the Power Primate. _

_How do I do that? _Gidget asked while trying to locate the owner of the voice.

_Your friends know, why don't you ask them? _The voice replied softly, _It's time you went back. _Suddenly Gidget was being pulled again, but this time away from the voice. She twitched slightly as she was pulled back into her body and opened her eyes.

_What the heck did that mean?_ She wondered as she stared at the ground.

"Did you get a hold of her?" Gibson asked when he noticed Gidget's eyes open again. She started to shake her head then stopped, suddenly remembering something, one of the stories Otto had told her about the day before unexpectedly come to her. Something about Sparx getting kidnapped by a clockwork man? And then everyone having to call the Super Robot by locking…

Suddenly the solution hit her. "Everyone!" Gidget said excitedly, "Grab hands!"

"Why?" Nova asked looking around at the rest of the team in confusion.

"The Skeleton King didn't take the Power Primate." Gidget explained quickly while smirking, "He doesn't have the power to do that, but he can bury it deep inside us. So deep, in fact that you don't even think you have it anymore, but it's all a trick of the mind. So we must perform our own trick and dig it back up, but it will take all of us working together to do it." She finished triumphantly.

"And how are we suppose to grab your hands?" Sparx asked, only half-joking. Otto who had been trying to quietly work on Gidget's arm, suddenly yelled out in triumph. He reconnected one last wire and Gidget's arm lit up in a bright flare of pain.

"Ah ha-ha!" Gidget yelled out as she moved her left arm again. "Thank you Otto." She said while wincing at the sudden movement from her arm. She transformed her gun back into her normal hand mode and held it out to Otto. She turned to Sparx and held out her destroyed right arm.

"You can hold this one for being a smart-alack." She smiled as he just shrugged and grabbed the ragged edge of her arm. Sparx held his other hand out to Nova who took his and Chiro's, Chiro grabbing Antauri's and Antauri taking Gibson's hand, who in turn completed the circle by taking Otto's other hand. "All right everyone, just focus." Gidget said calmly.

"On what exactly?" Nova asked, she wasn't really use to connecting with the Power Primate. It wasn't that she was ignorant about, it was just that she never really thought about trying it. Gidget thought about it for a second and then her face light up.

"The most important thing in your life right now." She said finally as they all closed their eyes "Just think about whatever makes you happiest." Everyone relaxed and simply focused on that one, simple thought. They could all feel the faint green glow of the Power primate in their chest, their hearts beating in sync. They breathed in and out and thought as one. Gidget's voice cutting through the silence like a knife.

"Now move your attention to Genesis and the Super Robot." They did as she instructed thought of their little wayward friend.

.::~::.

Genesis abruptly stopped and looked around, it suddenly felt like the team was back, and she turned around excitedly and looked for them.

_Geni?_ Gidget's voice asked, Genesis jumped up and down and answered hastily.

_I'm here! Are you guys okay? _She asked concerned.

_Yes, we're fine. _Antauri answered, _Are you doing alright by yourself?_

_Oh yes, _Genesis answered while nodding her head even though they couldn't see her. The _Super Robot is helping me give directions to the SKRF, but more and more Formless keep appearing. I don't know how much longer we can last without you guys. _

_Can you hold out a little longer?_ Gidget asked worriedly, _I don't know how long it will be until we can get back there._

_I guess, _Genesis answered unsure, _I'll at least try to hold out as long as I can. _

_Good girl, _Antauri said with approval, _Just be careful. _And then as soon as they appeared, they were gone again. But Genesis had a new-found hope in knowing that they were okay, and turned to get back to work.

.::~::.

The team cut off the connection and looked around, smiling at their success. Antauri and Chiro could even feel the Power Primate pulsing through them again.

"Now what will we do?" Nova asked finally breaking the silence.

"We need to get Gidget back to the Super Robot to fix her wounds." Gibson said while stroking his chin. "But can we really leave here without facing the Skeleton King a final time?" Everyone stopped and stared at Gibson with gaping mouths.

"Gibby wants to fight?" Gidget asked placing a hand over her mouth in amazement.

"Oh stop, it's not that shocking." Gibson said with a good-natured eye roll. "We need to stop the Skeleton King to make sure he never hurts on of our teammates ever again."

"No I'm with Gidget on this one," Sparx crossed his arms and smiling, "What brings the sudden change in heart?"

"It's change in judgment, actually." Gibson answered before turning to Gidget and sighing. "I believe I owe you an apology, Gidget." He turned his head down while Gidget looked at him slightly shocked.

"For what-?" She started but he held up a hand to stop her.

"You know what." He said looking directly at Gidget, "If I had grabbed your hand, you wouldn't have met that despicable Mandarin and he wouldn't have been able hurt you like he did." His eyes sized up her injuries, she was favoring one leg to the other one and he could only hoped she wouldn't walk with a limp after this was over. "All because I didn't want to trust you because, quite simply, you seriously annoyed me. I have been sorely proven wrong about your intentions and whose side you are fighting for." He held out his hand to her. "If you would please forgive for my grave error in judgment-" Gidget interrupted him with a squealed of delight and lunged at him, using her one good arm to tightly hug Gibson.

"Oh don't worry about it Gibson!" She said happily as he slowly returned the hug, "I know it's hard to accept someone new into the team, especially someone who you don't know a thing about. I forgive, it's not like anyone died or anything over it." She quickly glanced behind her at the floor. "Anyone we liked." She corrected quickly.

Sparx and Nova glanced uneasily at each other and sighed. "Gidget we own you an apology too." Sparx said while holding out his own hand.

"Yeah," Nova added while she rubbed the back of her head. "We both have had our doubts about you, sorry." Gidget smiled and gave them both a quick hug.

"It's okay guys, really." She smiled happily and tilted her head. "I knew I would grow on you guys eventually." She was grinning ear-to-ear and looking between the couple.

"That doesn't give us the right to judge you, though." Nova protested, she felt horrible for what happened to Gidget. "And no one should have to fight that Traitor by themselves."

"It doesn't matter now." Gidget said shaking her head with a smile. "What's done is done and now we can all move on."

"We have to forget the past, live in the present, and look to the future." Otto said suddenly, everyone looked at him slightly shocked, he didn't say inspirational things that often. His trademark goofy smile quickly spread across his face though. "Besides, now we can all celebrate by getting ice cream together!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself, though I suggest delaying the preparations for celebration till after the battle." Antauri said while smiling, "Now what is our next plan of action, Chiro?" He and the rest of the team turned to their leader.

"Well someone has to get Gidget back to the Super Robot, she can hardly stand up on her own, let alone make it back to the Robot safely. Then I think the rest of us can go after Skeleton King." Chiro said while creating a plan in his head. "So who wants to go with Gidget?"

"I think Nova should take Gidget back to the robot." Sparx volunteered her, he didn't want Nova or Gidget any where Skeleton King.

"No way I'm missing the final battle!" Nova piped up. "I'm the best fighter."

"Well I'm one of the weakest." Gibson suggested, "Maybe I should go with her."

"What if I go with her?" Otto asked while adjusting Gidget on his shoulder a bit. "You guys will need Nova, Sparx and Gibson in case S. K. tries to take your powers again and besides, I still need to fix Gidget's arms." Everyone thought it over and nodded, that seemed like a good plan. "Great, glad we got that figured out!" He crouched down so Gidget could climb on his back, making a seat with his hands so she could wrap her legs around his arms.

"Are you okay, and can you make it back to the Super Robot like this?" She asked as she wrapped her arm around his neck. He nodded vigorously and turned back to the team. "See you guys later!" He called behind him as he and Gidget left.

"Good luck!" Gidget yelled back as she and Otto disappeared around a corner. The team smiled and waved until they were gone, then Gibson asked a question.

"Do they even know where they are going or how to get out of here?"

.::~::.

"Otto do you know where we are going?" Gidget asked after about 10 minutes of them randomly running down hallways.

"Nope." He answered cheerfully and kept jogging on.

"Oh, okay." Gidget nodded as they took a sharp turn. They continued this way for about 10 more minutes before Otto finally slowed down to a quick run, and then a walk before eventually stopping completely.

"Do you think it's important that we know how to get out of here?" He asked suddenly. "I just kinda figured if we kept running around we would eventually see a staircase or something leading us out of here."

"Well if we want to go help Geni and fix my arms up," Gidget held her crushed arm in front of him, "then yeah, it would be nice to know how to get out of here."

"Oh," He said simply while looking around at the hallway they were in. "Do you have any suggestions on where to go next...wait." Otto listened closely as he heard a strange sound coming from the end of the hallway they were currently traveling down. "Do you hear that?" He asked.

"That weird thumping sound?" Gidget asked as she tilted her head to the side. "Yeah, I do."

"What do you think it is?" Otto asked as he cautiously walked forward and Gidget transformed her only working hand into her firearm. They came out at a balcony that over looked a large pit. They both glanced over the edge and gasped, there was an entire factory down there with Formless working the controls.

"What are they making?" Gidget whispered as Otto just shrugged and slowly knelt down so Gidget could slide off his back and they could observe better. There was a big machine that had a huge foot that stamped down on a conveyor-belt every so often. It was covered in a gross black ooze and when it went down, it lifted up again to reveal... a Formless. Otto and Gidget gasped.

"A Formless factory!" They yelled in unison before they both quickly covered each other's mouth and ducked down as just Formless guards looked up to their hiding place.

"What are we going to do?" Gidget whispered as they peeked over the edge of the banister they were hiding behind to see if they were spotted.

"We need to stop it, but we can't with your broken arm." Otto thought out-loud as they saw they were safe for now.

"It's only one arm, I've got another." Gidget retorted while lifting up her left arm

"No it's too dangerous." Otto persisted while shaking his head.

"Well we can't just leave, running off into the darkness!" Gidget said angrily. "We might not be able to find this factory again and we need to take this opportunity to cut off S.K.'s army supply. It would give the SKRF a huge advantage in this war, we have to risk it."

Otto gritted his teeth because he knew she was right, but he didn't want to put her in any more danger. "Well we're going to need a plan to stop if we're going to try this." He answered finally while sighing heavily.

Gidget smiled devilishly. "Oh I think I got just the one…"

.::~::.

"How are we going to find Skeleton King?" Nova asked as the team cautiously walked the halls, dispatching of any Formless they saw as quickly and quietly as they could.

"We could follow Gidget and Otto's lead and just run in a random direction." Sparx suggested with a smirk before quickly wincing back, waiting for the blow but Nova just glared at him and actually didn't hit him. "Well that's a first." Sparx said as he uncoiled himself.

"I don't want to waste my energy on you." Nova said as she stuck her nose up and looked away, but Sparx still saw her small glance his way. He smiled and turned his attention back to the rest of the team.

"Well we still have to figure out to get back to Him." Chiro sighed, "If only we could find someone to tell us how to get to the Throne Room…" A Formless walked around to corner just as he said this and stopped when it saw the team. Everyone stopped and stared right back at it, the gears clicking in their heads. The Formless ran for it.

"Stop it!" Chiro yelled as the team jumped into action.

"Oh no you don't!" Gibson yelled as he sent ice beams at its feet and froze it in place. He smiled triumphantly as Antauri jumped on its shoulders and transformed his newly reactivated Ghost Claws.

"Hold still and this won't hurt a bit." He said as he grabbed its head and closed his eyes. The Formless tried to struggle away, but to no avail, and after a moment Antauri let go of its head and jumped off of its shoulders. "Would you like to do the honors, Chiro?" He asked motioning to the Formless.

"Gladly. This I can promise will hurt. " Chiro said as he jumped at the Formless. "Lighting Kick!" He yelled as the Formless dissolved into a pile of goo.

"Did you find a way to the Skeleton King?" Gibson asked as Antauri nodded and led the way to Skeleton King's Throne.

* * *

Gidget's not dead! I need to stop making cliffhangers. _(Or just be a better writer in general.)_ Well guys, I think that I will only do one more chapter until I reveal if I'm going to keep this story up. Are you enjoying it? Is my writing getting worse? It feels like it is… _(Actually your writing is fine, it's the authors comments I would worry about.)_

Tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion of Book 1: Gidget! _(Except it's not, there are still like, 16 more chapters to go, whoops._


	13. Ch 13 The End

"We read to know that we are not alone."- C.S. Lewis

Ch. 13 The End

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Otto asked as they prepared to execute the plan.

"Nope." Gidget quickly answered while tying a rope in between her and Otto's waists.

"Oh, okay." Otto said simply while double checking the knots. They had found and gotten the rope in case something went wrong with the plan so they wouldn't be separated, the last thing Otto needed was Gidget falling off his back and into a swarm of Formless.

"I mean, it probably will." Gidget said as she shrugged and got ready to get on his back again. Otto sighed, he really wished she would take her safety a little more serous. What if she got hurt in this hair-brained scheme of hers?

"Are you ready?" He asked finally while leaning down so she could crawl back on.

"Yep." she answered as she wrapped her right arm around his neck and transformed her left hand in to her weapon. "Try not to worry so much, this will work, trust me." She said cheerfully. Otto looked back and saw her happy face and he couldn't help grinning himself. Seeing her shimmering smile filled him with hope every time he saw it.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Otto took a deep breath and jumped on the railing they had been hiding behind and stood up tall. "Hey Uglies!" he yelled at the Formless down below. "We've got a present for you!" He smiled and looked back at Gidget who grinned wildly and nodded her head. He nodded back, turned around, and fell backwards off the rail.

.::~::.

"Quickly team!" Antauri said as they ran towards their confrontation with the Skeleton King. "Those Formless we failed to eradicate in the last hall might raise an alarm and we'll lose the element of surprise, hurry now!"

"What if He's already planning something for us?" Sparx asked, trying to catch his breath, "Why are we running full speed towards him and wasting energy?"

"Sparx is questioning our recklessness, and Gibson wants to run headfirst into battle." Nova commented with a smirk, "What is this, role reversal day?"

"Well sorry if I want to be a little bit more cautions this time around since the last time we ran into battle we all got dropped a few hundred feet." Sparx said smartly back, smiling.

"All that matters," Chiro interrupted, "is that we defeat Him once and for all." Everyone nodded as they ran up an enormously large staircase.

The bright light suddenly came on as they reached the top of the stairs and blinded them for a few seconds. Chiro brought his arm up to protect his eyes.

"Hello, Monkey Team." the Skeleton King said with a certain composure.

"Skeleton King." Chiro whispered as he spotted the Big Bad himself sitting causally on his throne. The team all spread out and took defensive stances.

Skeleton King started to cackled and sneered at the team. "I see you learned something from our last encounter, Monkey Team."

"We have learned a lot since your last appearance." Antauri said as he transformed his hands and the team followed.

"That's nice." Skeleton King said sourly. "But weren't there two more members of your team? Where are they now?"

"Getting as far away from you as they can." Sparx spat at him through clenched teeth.

"Oh well that will do them no good." The Master said, "I will find them, bring them back up here for a small reunion. Then I will turn my attention to that pathetic excuse for an army you have out there and destroy it, that silly city you seven are so bent on saving, and finally _you."_

"Over our dead bodies!" Nova said fiercely while clinching her fists.

"No, I just explained the plan, that comes after the city." Skeleton King said with a sick leer and made a quick hand gesture, causing tons of Formless surrounded the team. "Really now Nova, I always considered you one of the clever ones, I shouldn't have to explain twice."

"You afraid to fight us yourself?" Nova snapped at the Skeleton King while preparing to attack the Formless.

"Why should I dirty my hands with your foul blood?" He retorted while causally crossing his legs. "That is what minions are for after all, but don't worry too much, they won't destroy you, yet."

"Yeah well we all ready took care of one of your slaves." Sparx said as he backed towards Nova.

"Oh?" Skeleton King asked curiously, "And who would that be?"

"Mandarin." Chiro said grinning a little while preparing to attack.

Skeleton King's mouth twitched up into a sneer, but he quickly regained his composure. "Oh well, it's not that big of a lost. It was only a clone after all." The team let out a collective growl, Mandarin might have been an enemy, but he had still been their teammate at one time.

"No one, even someone as evil as Mandarin, deserved that." Antauri said coolly, causing Skeleton King cackled again.

"You honestly believe I care?" He asked while sneering and readjusting himself on his bony throne. "Take care of them." He ordered shortly as the Formless moved in a collective mass and surged upon the heroes.

"Go team!" Chiro yelled as they all jumped to attack the Formless.

.::~::.

Otto fell from the rail just as planned and quickly shot one of his saws towards the ceiling. It sailed through the air in the track that he had predicted and embedded itself deep into the ceiling. Of course, the Formless weren't just going to stand there and watch them to all this and they immediately started to gather under the duo, attempted to grab Otto and Gidget. But luckily the couple was just out of the evil blobs's reach, for now.

"Try and keep us steady Otto," Gidget said as she aimed her gun. "We won't have any second chances, this is my last Boom Bomb."

"I'm trying my best!" Otto retorted as he looked down and saw the Formless making a body pyramid. They climbed on top of on one another without care or even seeming to register pain. He was fascinated by the display until he realized that they were quickly gaining ground on them. "Um, Gidg?" He said slightly panicking. "You wanna hurry that up?"

"Patience, Otto," Gidget said as she got her target in her sights, "Is a virtue." She took a deep breath, getting ready to fire when they swayed slightly and her target moved out of the sights. Gidget cursed softly under her breath and tried to aim at the Formless Making Machine again.

"Gidget, we don't have really have time for patience!" Otto fretted as he had to quickly lift his feet up just to keep the Formless from snatching them. "Gidget hurry!" He urged her.

"Almost…" Gidget concentrated as the machine lined up perfectly with her cross-hairs. "Got it!" She yelled triumphantly before pulling the trigger. "Otto go up now! Gogogogogogo..." Gidget urged as the bomb sailed through the air, but Otto didn't need much encouragement and he quickly started to retract his saw. Using Otto's weapon as a grappling hook, the duo swiftly ascended to the ceiling as the Formless snatched at them in a useless attempt. Otto and Gidget shot up into the air just as the bomb landed under the stamp machine and went off. It exploded in a fiery ball of metal and Formless matter, bits of gears and springs rained down everywhere, including into some of the remaining Formless, and they were torn apart into globs of unrecognizable goop.

Gidget and Otto were up high enough that the shrapnel barely missed them. "Eww…" They echoed in unison before looking at each other and smiling.

"See," Gidget started to say, "I told you it would work-" when a low rumble started to shake the room. Gidget and Otto looked at each other with identical looks of slight alarm.

"Uh oh." They said together as clumps of dirt and rock started to fall from the ceiling all around them. They decided with a sense of urgency to escape danger and quickly stared to descend, any Formless lucky enough to survived the explosion were soon squashed under the falling the stalactites. Otto reached the balcony and gave a quick pull to release his saw from the ceiling before he quickly turned on his heel and bolted down the hallway, away from the destruction that was shaking the entire castle. Gidget was still too weak to run herself, so she just held on tightly to Otto's neck as he sprinted down the hallway as fast as he could.

.::~::.

Jinmay stumbled back into the robot in a rush, exhausted and spent, she had just fought her back to the robot. The Formless were everywhere and seemed to be multiplying, but she had returned as soon as she could to help Genesis in the control center. Their forces were spread too thin and the enemies too numerous, Jinmay was beginning to hope for a miracle because she did not know how long the Skeleton King Resistance Force would last without some divine intervention.

"Genesis?" She called out, her worry heard on every word. "Are you okay?" she continued while looking for any sign of her young friend. Genesis appeared around a doorway and quickly motioned for Jinmay to come towards her. "I came as soon as I could," Jinmay explained as she walked into the control room. "How is everything in here?" Genesis proudly gestured to the computer screen, but Jinmay did not have a clue what she was trying to tell her.

"Honey, I don't understand…" she started until she saw the screen. "What?" She asked in disbelief, it looked like the SKRF was actually gaining the upper hand now, the Formless were starting to dissipate and falling back. "What's going on?" She turned Genesis extremely confused. "How are we gaining ground so suddenly?"

Genesis looked at her with a smile stretching ear receptor to ear receptor before she typed two words on the computer and Jinmay understood completely.

_Our Family. _Jinmay looked at Genesis and smiled while Geni only nodded, not needing to say anything else. Suddenly the screen began to beep and another message replaced Genesis's. The girls gasped as they read it before they looked back at each other.

_What should we do? _Geni's eyes asked the humanoid robot.

"I guess we should do as it tells us." Jinmay said as she shrugged her shoulders and looking back to the screen. "I think it's the only thing we can do at this point."

.::~::.

The team were dodging attacks left and right as the Skeleton King sat on his throne and smiled sickly, but at least the endless wave of Formless seemed to be dissipating a little.

"He looks like he's really enjoying the show." Sparx said as he zapped a Formless. "What I wouldn't give to hit that smug look off his face."

"Patience," Antauri said as the Monkey Mind Screech on a group of on coming Formless. "All things will come in due time."

"Yeah," Chiro echoed, "and it's almost time for him to pay those dues." The ground under them suddenly began to rumble slightly.

"Now what?" Nova asked exasperated as she punched a Formless dead in the face.

"It appears to be slight tremors caused by an unknown source." Gibson answered quickly while striking a minion with his drill. "It feels like it's actually coming from under the castle."

"Why do I feel like Otto and Gidget are at the center of this earthquake?" Sparx asked with an eye roll.

"You mean the epicenter?" Gibson asked as he stuck his drill deep into the chest of a Formless.

"No, I actually mean that they are the cause more than anything else." Sparx replied as he struck down a retreating enemy.

.::~::.

"That was a bad idea." Gidget said as she held on tightly to Otto's neck.

"Yep, looking back I think we could have done better." He replied as gravel began to hit his heels. "Maybe thought things out a bit more."

"You think we would have noticed that machine was right beside a support column." Gidget said as she looked back at the wall of debris they were trying to out run. "Run faster." She suggested calmly.

"I'm running as fast as I can." Otto said back as he took a quick corner.

"Look!" Gidget used her bad arm to point ahead of them. "Stairs!" Otto ran towards them as fast as he could, slowed down by the ground quaking violently under his feet and exhaustion from having to carry the still weak Gidget on his back. He reached the stairs and started to jump up them three at a time, but just as he was about to set his foot down on the landing above, the step he was standing on suddenly dropped a couple of feet. The stairs started to collapse in on themselves and Otto's foot missed the step and he and Gidget tumbled down to the stairs. While the stairs were wide enough so they didn't fall all the way back down, Gidget and Otto still got a few bruises and fell quite a ways down. But Gidget was up in a heart beat and beside of Otto in the blink of an eye.

"Otto? Are you okay?" She asked helping him back to his feet.

"Yup, I'm fine." He grunted as the ground shifted under them again and Gidget and Otto had to lean on each other just to keep from falling down again. A giant crack started to make its way up the stairs causing Otto and Gidget glance quickly at each other again before they got their tail-ends in gear.

They had almost reached the landing again, Gidget was in front with Otto just a step behind her, when the crack shot pass them and the stairs collapsed underneath their feet. Gidget was able to jump to the landing and roll to safety, but turned around in time to see Otto slip and fall into the gorge the quake had just created.

"Otto!" Gidget yelled as she scrambled towards to edge, and was surprised by Otto's face just inches below hers.

"Hey Gidget." Otto said calmly as he held tightly to the rope that was still connected to her waist and had saved his life. "Think you could pull me back up now?" Gidget laughed shakily while holding out her hand and pulling him up to the safety of the landing. They both began to laugh uncontrollably and hugging each other tightly.

"Aw, now isn't that cute?" Sparx said suddenly from behind them. Gidget and Otto turned to see that they had run right into the throne room and the rest of the team was just yards away them. They both began to blushing profusely and tried to stammer out an excuse.

"W-we were just really happy that we're alive!" Gidget finally managed to get out, smiling vibrantly.

"I don't care what you two were doing." Nova said while turning to punch a Formless, "But how about you give us a hand since you are here?" There was just a couple of Formless left now.

"I actually do want to know what they were doing." Gibson quickly said to Nova, before turning back to Gidget and Otto, "Were you two the cause of the earthquake we felt?"

"Yup." Otto said proudly, "you guys should have seen all the Formless we squashed."

"And we destroyed the Formless maker." Gidget piped in happily while finally untying herself from Otto.

"_YOU WHAT_**?"** The Skeleton King suddenly screeched at them as he bolted up from his seat like it was suddenly made of fire.

"You what?" Chiro echoed with a more pleased tone, "Way to go guys!" He looked down and saw that Gidget was still unarmed. "Have you guys not been back to the Super Robot?" he suddenly asked concerned.

"No." They answered in unison, "No time."

"This is impossible!" The Skeleton King interrupted them while shaking his head. "There is no way you two idiots would be able to take down my entire production line!"

Gidget glared at him and suddenly stood up. "Who are you calling idiots?" she yelled back as she pointed her destroyed hand at him accusingly. "Any good villain knows better than to keep all of your factories in one place."

"Gidget stop giving him ideas!" Nova yelled as she hit Gidget on the back of the head in the same way that was usually reserved for Sparx.

Skeleton King began to cackle again, everyone turned to him. "You were never really that bright, Gidget." he said with a wicked grin. "You always had so much potential, but constantly refused to apply yourself."

"Hey!" She started to reply to the insult and then stopped. "How do you know my name?"

"I know all, but some things will be better revealed in time."

"Mandarin said the same thing." Gidget snapped, "Stop pussyfooting around! I want answers!"

"Do you really, child?" He asked while slowly turning his head to the side. "All right then, if you insist. Let's talk." With one swipe of his hand he threw everyone but Gidget against the opposing wall where they struggled helplessly under his invisible grip, their feet not even touching the ground. Then He was suddenly standing in front of Gidget, moving with a speed none of them had witnessed before. She fell back in terror, but he grabbed her by the neck and hauled her up to his level.

"Leave her alone!" The team yelled in unison while fighting against their invisible bonds.

"Do you really want to remember your past?" He whispered sickly while pulling Gidget closer. "Fine let me just give you a taste of what you have chosen to forget." Suddenly Gidget felt immense power rip through her, she withered side to side and let loose a blood curling scream as visions flashed through her eyes, full of pain, hate, and darkness.

She saw visions of her hurting people, of destroying cities and villages and planets. She saw corruption and that she was at the right hand of it, there was fire, destruction, and pain. Gidget screamed louder and struggled against the crushing pressure of the memories, then suddenly she was being assaulted by voices.

_Where is she?_

_Why did she leave_?

When I get a hold of her I'm going to beat the living tar out of her.

**_What a weakling, to just run away like that.  
_**

**Silence fools, I sense her near again. Hello, Gidget. **

Gidget winced, Why did all the voices seemed so familiar, Who were they?

Gidget! Where ya been, buddy?

_Is that weakling brat Genesis still with you?_

_Or did you abandon her too?_

"Get out of my head!" Gidget screamed at the top of her lungs. "Who are you!?"

**You don't remember us? Oh well not to worry, you will soon. **

The Skeleton King smirked and felt she had suffered enough. He opened his hand and let her fall to the ground in a heap. Gidget twitched slightly but did not try to get up.

"What did you do to her?" Otto screamed at him as he tried to pull his arms from the wall.

"I showed her the truth about herself, the one she has been trying so hard to outrun." Skeleton King said as he looked down at her limp body.

"We won't let you do this!" Chiro yelled at him as he fought against their unseen restraints.

"You should just stop wasting your energy." The Skeleton King said, "Not even the Power Primate can break those bonds. Speaking of which, How did you get the Power Primate back?"

"We did it together." Nova spat, glaring at the Skeleton King.

"Why did you only hide it from Chiro and me?" Antauri asked suddenly.

The Skeleton King smiled sickly. "Because I didn't thing it would matter if I took it from any one else, they are too weak for it to wield it anyways."

"Hey!" Gibson, Otto, Nova and Sparx said in unison, feeling the anger bubble inside them. And not just anger from being insulted, but everything that had happened to them since the beginning. The anger from the betrayals, the losses and every single defeat they had suffered was finally getting to them. They felt a power none of them had ever tried to harvest start to seep out.

"We're stronger than we look." Nova said as she began to get angrier and angrier, she felt like she was going to go Super Nova again, but this time it felt different, like she had it more under control.

"You shouldn't doubt our power when we work together." the normally calm Gibson said with a surprisingly threatening tone.

"And you defiantly shouldn't hurt our friends." Otto finished as they all started to focused their energy and... nothing happened.

The Skeleton King began to cackle again. "Fools, did you really think you would be able to break my bonds?" He laughed menacingly as he turned back to the limp form of Gidget. Then he started to lose control over their bonds. "What are you doing?" Skeleton King turned back, shocked and angry.

"I think we're using the power primate." Sparx said smugly. "You know, the think you said we were too weak to do? Well guess who's weak now, ya bony freak!" Skeleton King started to back away slowly when he unexpectedly lost his footing and toppled over backwards. He shot up and looked over to see Gidget with her tail out and her glaring at him like she would rip his throat out, if she had enough power to stand up, that is.

"You have no faith in your creations." She said as she laid on the ground, completely defenseless. Skeleton King gritted his teeth and jumped up. This weakling, this completely immobile girl was standing up to him, and he could crush her without moving a single muscle if he wanted to, but he didn't want to, not yet. No, instead he glared at her as he lifted her up without moving a finger, and he flicked his eyes over to the rest of her pathetic team making her sail through the air and land hard against the wall at Chiro's feet.

"Gidget are you okay?" He asked concerned as she rolled over and smiled weakly at him.

"I might have broken another rib, but other than that I'm just peachy." She laughed weakly, the adrenaline rush from destroying the Formless finally wearing off. "Though the sooner we get back to S.R, the happier I'll be, personally."

"You know, I changed my mind." The Skeleton King announced while strolling back towards his throne. "I'm going to kill you all now, plant each of your heads on a pike so that entire pathetic city can lose all hope for victory and then destroy this whole pathetic excuse for a planet." Every word dripped with venom as he turned back to the team. "And of course the seven of you are going to be the first to die." Everyone doubled their attempts to break the bonds, which they were making progress on but hadn't succeed in doing yet. All except for Gidget, in fact it looked like she was even smiling.

"Gidget," Gibson asked as he stopped struggling a moment to catch his breath, "What is wrong with you, What could you possibly be happy about?"

"It just surprises me," she replied with a grin, "how much he doubts the power of our allies." Skeleton King glared at her furiously and lifted his hands above his head. The stalagmites that covered the floor broke free of their roots and turned to point straight at the team like rock daggers.

"Say goodbye, Hyper Force." He sent the deadly missiles flying just as the ceiling collapsed and a gigantic metal foot crashed through to protected the team at the last moment. The stalagmites stuck uselessly in the metal man's foot and as the foot lifted, Gidget was still laying there, smirking at the Skeleton King.

"Goodbye, Skeleton King." Gidget shot back with laughter as Skeleton King let out an inhuman growl and lost his concentration over the Hyper Force at last, causing them to fall the ground. Chiro quickly scooped Gidget up in his arms and ran behind their savior's giant foot.

"Why is the Super Robot here?" Otto asked as the Team crouched behind gigantic mechanical man.

"I called him a while back." Gidget said smiling as she laid in Chiro's arms. "I figured we might need the back up, and boy does he know how to make an entrance."

Skeleton King angrily turned around and stormed back to his throne and sat down. He grumbled angrily to himself as he slid open a hidden panel and flipped a switch, causing a gigantic flying beast to appeared under his royal seat.

"Where does he keep getting these things?" Sparx asked equally tired and annoyed while giving an aside glance to the rest of the team.

"At least you're not on it this time." Nova said softly beside him. Sparx quickly looked back at her and realized that he was the only one the hear this comment, the rest of the team was too transfixed by the site of their greatest enemy escaping yet again. He turned to Nova and looked her in the eyes, she looked back and she smiled sweetly at him. He offered his hand to her, returning the smile, and she took it.

"You may have won the battle, Hyper Force." Skeleton King yelled as he flew away, "But you have not yet won the war." He disappeared into the bloody sunset as bone citadel began to shake and rumble.

"I think breaking those support columns, combined with the Super Robot's weight is finally making this thing fall." Otto commented as he looked around at the tumbling rubble around them.

"Then let's get out of here team." Chiro said as the team ran into to the Super Robot, and took off as the floor finally collapsed in on itself and the team escaped to safety.

.::~::.

**Epilogue**

There is not much to tell after that, Gidget was taken to the sick-bay, patched up and made to stay for a week while her ribs healed. There was much celebrating throughout the city for the victory they had won, but they all knew it would not last forever. The team still had so much to learn, about themselves, their enemies and each other, and they still have villains to defeat. But a least for a couple of days, they did have peace.

After she was released from the med lab, Gidget had taken it upon herself to formally introduce herself to her one, very large savior. She sat calmly on the Super Robot's shoulder and watched as the sun set and it warmed her skin. She found this the least awkward place to hold a conversation with Super Robot, so she had taken to sitting up here for hours on end to just chat with him. In her opinion, not only did he have the best stories to tell, but also a lot of insight on the team and a huge desire to communicate, since he had done it so sparingly in the past. Gidget was getting close to her new family and her new home, and she could not be happier.

But things were not perfect, she knew that. Sparx and Nova were happy, for now, but it was only a matter of time before he did or said some thing to really set her off and then they would be at each others throats again. Gibson was much more patient with Gidget, but he still got annoyed whenever she came into his lab uninvited or talked to much or was around for too long. Antauri was still trying to get her to join him in mediation, and she still declined while Genesis loved it. Gidget had noticed that her little sister really like it here, and she could not deny that she did too. She felt at peace and happy for once in their long lives, but Gidget still worried about the past, the one that seemed closer to her than ever no matter how hard she tried to out run it and she worried if she would want to stay and let the new team discover it. And while she had a sinking suspicion that it would catch up to her one day, Gidget now knew that there was a whole family standing behind her and that would help her through anything life had to throw at her, if she allowed them to.

And while all this was great, there was one more thing that really made Gidget stay. Yes she could have left the team after the battle if she had wanted too, she could have asked for a one way ticket out of here and they would have complied, but she didn't. And that one thing was enough to make her want to stay without a reasonable doubt. That one thing that gave her hope when it seemed all else was lost. That one thing had just exited the elevator and was walking towards her with a big goofy smile on his face while that one thing sat down beside of her.

"Hey Gidget!" Otto said happily as he plopped down and hung his legs over the side of the Robot. "What cha' you doing?"

Gidget smiled happily at him. "Just talking to S.R." Gidget said as she looked back over her shoulder at the Super Robot's unchanging visage.

"Oh," Otto said with a simple head nod as they sat there for a minute in silence, something that many would think was odd for them. "Can you teach me how to?" He asked suddenly while turning to Gidget.

"To talk to S.R.?" Gidget questioned him while tilting her head, but he quickly nodded in response.

"I don't know any other way to thank him for helping us find your distress signal." Otto answered while looking out over the darkening city. " I think we would have just left it alone if he hadn't shown it to me, you know just thought it was a rock not a rocket." Otto laughed at his own joke while turning back at Gidget, flashing a huge smile. "He helped us complete our little family and I really want to thank him for that." Gidget looked at him in surprise for a second and then smiled.

"You can just talk to him like you would anyone else," Gidget explained quickly, "he'll understand you just fine and anything he has to say in return I'll translate for you." Otto grinned widely at her. Gidget knew there was still a lot to do; they had to defeat Skeleton King and they had to figure out where Gidget and Genesis were from. She also felt like the voices she had heard had something to do with that, but only time would tell.

For now though, they could just sit here and talk and laugh and maybe this thing that was between them would grow. Maybe Gidget wouldn't want to leave after this war and maybe she would want to stay with Otto for the rest of their lives. But she wasn't sure of that yet, it had been an exciting week, but it was still too soon to tell if anything like that was gonna happen. But her and Otto's relationship was just starting and while there was no promise that it would develop into something more or last at all, there was still plenty of time to see where it did go. So even if Gidget could not remember her past or see her future, she could definitely enjoy the present.

.::~::.

The puddle that had once been their friend began to quiver, then it began to pool. It was not a pretty site and to be honest, it looked painful. Screams of terror ripped through the pile of stones that had one been a castle, and finally a rather primate-like shape began to form and solidify, uttering one simple sentence:

"I'm going to make them pay for that…"

* * *

And it's the end of Book 1! Just joking, I have a few more chapters that I would like to get out before Book 1 really ends. So yes that means that I will be continuing the story. *Balloons fall from the ceiling and streamers follow. Wild cheering is heard and everyone gets cake and ice cream.*

I want to keep this going and complete the rest of the story, so expect more laughs, love, pain _(Mostly pain at the expense of my writing, har har.)_ and fun in the following chapters to come! This is the best place for me to do this, so big thanks the my fans, you guys rock! Sorry I write like a maniac! _(Hahahaha oh man remember that time that I use to actually get chapters out every few weeks? Ahahah.)_ Apparently I want to write a real book or something! This thing sure is as long as one. _(And because of all my new editing it is almost twice as long as it originally was, yay!)_

Till next time! Ta-ta!

_(Okay and with that ends our romp of re-editing old chapters in anticipation of getting new readers! Hopefully people will now start sticking around after reading the first few chapters instead of dropping off as they tend to do. In all seriousness, while I made a lot of jokes at my expense, over all I'm still pretty happy with the product I gave out 3 years ago. It had its problems, I'm not saying it didn't but what really hurt it in the end wasn't that I had bad ideas or rampant OoCharacterization, but really just poor execution and simply that I didn't sit down and really try and read through what I had just written and add meat to the bare bones of dialog and setting I had in here. The quality of your work can improve so much just by you adding in simple descriptions into the story, something that when I was rushing to get these first 13 chapters out, I did not think about._

_So yeah maybe I didn't need to redo these first few chapters, readers who wanted to trudge through the book to get to the new, better chapters would trudge through regardless of how badly it was written, because all authors get better over time. But there were a few things I needed to retcon like Genesis's powers and being able to add in a few new scenes with characterization moments, foreshadowing, and that kind of stuff really make the story more cohesive. So like I said at the beginning, you don't NEED to re-read the new chapters to understand the new ones, but I think it's more enjoyable now and I actually kinda enjoyed going back and fixing my old work and familiarizing myself with it again before I start writing new chapters for this thing. So here's to the new year, maybe I can finally finish up this story now. Maybe)  
_


	14. Episode 52: Alive

And so my personal take on Season 5 begins, let's see how this goes.

* * *

_The darkness engulfed her. _

_It surrounded her._

_It fed on her._

_She had been here before._

_And worse of all, _

_She was slowly going back…_

* * *

**Episode 52 "Alive"**

_Gidget was alone, she was cold and in a dark, horrid place. A terrible black claw reached for her._

_**Come back… **It taunted. It wrapped it's cold, deadly fingers around her waist and…_

Gidget fell out of her hammock and hit the floor. She woke up breathing heavily and confused of her surroundings. Then it all came back to her.

She was in the Super Robot, home of the Hyper Force. The events of the last three days flooded back to her and her heart rate calmed.

She let out a sigh and laid down on the cool, metal floor. Her hammock swung lazily above her. She loved the way it made her feel when she laid in it, it was like being rocked in a welcoming embrace, but the drop was painful.

She looked over to see if she had disturbed Geni, but her little sister was all ready gone. The cushions of her sleep capsule already fluffed and neatly made. That could explain why Geni had not tried wake Gidget up from her restless nightmare. Usually Gidget's dreams were loud enough to share with anyone in the immediate vicinity, (ah one of the downfalls to being clairvoyant), but she was glad she was already gone. This was not a nightmare she had wished to share.

It made her feel cold and dark inside. Gidget shivered and cursed herself for not covering up with the blanket Geni had offered her last night before bed.

Gidget took another deep breath and sucked in the scents of her new home. There was also the wafer of Gibson's chemicals, the smell Antauri's incenses, the perfume of Nova's combat equipment, Sparx's magnet wax, and oil and metal was all around her, (two of her favorite smells in the world), but there was something else… Maple Syrup.

Gidget seemed to float off the ground and she followed her nose to the kitchen where, sure enough, there was a plate of waffles as big as her.

Gidget stretched her arms above her chipped headgear and raised her black chest up with a deep breath. She wiped the sleep away from her lilac eyes, opened her ebony pupils and smile a brilliant, dazzling smile.

"Good morning guys!" She yelled/sang to her two friends standing in front of her. One was her height, his coal black eyes turned to greet hers, his smile an identical match of her own. Her spring green companion turned to her and greeted her with a yell in return.

"Hey Gidget!" Otto yelled as he pointed to the pile of waffles. "Me and Jinmay made waffles!" Their more humanoid friend turned at her name and smiled.

Her piercing emerald green eyes smile along with her mouth. Her salmon pink hair was pulled back in pig tails, the tips of which were cream.

"Morning Gidget," Jinmay said smiling, a pile of nine plates was pressed against her stomach. She had a plain white apron pulled over her hyper force uniform. "Hope you're hungry!"

"When am I not?" Gidget asked as she ran over to help Jinmay.

"Do I smell waffles?" Chiro asked as he walked into the kitchen. His cerulean blue eyes drifted to the pile of syrupy goodness.

"God Jinmay," he asked breathlessly, "did you make enough?"

"That was Otto's doing." She said as she pointed at the sea foam green monkey. Chiro shook his jet-black hair and went to help his friend get the drinking glasses that were just out of his reach.

Gidget noticed that this was the first time she had seen Chiro in something other than his hyper mode. It was a simple burgundy sweater with blue jeans, but she had started to suspect that the hyper mode was the only pair of clothes he owned.

"What smells awesome?" the ruby red member of the team asked as he stepped into the room. The lemon-yellow female followed right behind him.

"I already told you," she said obviously exasperated, "Otto and Jinmay made waffles." he turned to her and his own coal black eyes met her Persian pink ones.

"That was suppose to be a complement, Doll." he said as he winked at her.

Fire grew in her eyes, "Don't call me Doll." she said furiously.

"Okay, okay. Calm down it was a joke." She glared at him before sitting down at the table. If she was really mad at him, she made no attempt to stop him from sitting beside her. Chiro, Otto, Jinmay, and Gidget looked at each other and shared a silent laugh. They were about to sit down when two more members walked in.

"Good morning everyone." Their platinum second in command said as he walked in with his latest student closes in tow. "I trust every one had an enjoyable rest?"

His royal blue eyes caught Gidget's lilac ones momentarily and she feared he knew of her nightmares, but then they passed over her quickly and she let out the breath she didn't even know she had been holding.

Her chocolate brown sister poked her head out from behind Antauri's back and she waved to everyone. This was her message of good morning.

"Good morning, Geni." everyone answered. Her Persian pink eyes smiled and she ran over to hug her big sister, big red bow bouncing all the way.

"Morning Geni!" Gidget yelled as she lifted her off her feet, twirled her around and set her in the chair beside of her.

"Where were you this morning?" Gidget asked.

"Early morning mediation with me." Antauri answered as he took a seat at the head of the table.

Gidget nodded, she understood that Genesis wanted to learn how to speak through thoughts so she could converse with the rest of the team, but Gidget had no clue how Geni could sit in one position for that long. She knew she couldn't do it.

"Great!" Otto cheered as he sat down between Gidget and Jinmay. "Now, let's eat!"

"We can't Otto." Nova said, she was sitting directly across from Jinmay.

"Why not?" Otto asked sadly.

"Because Brain-Strain isn't here yet." Sparx answered, "I'll go get him."

"There is no need for that," the steel blue monkey said as he walked into the room and sat down beside Sparx and to Antauri's left. "I'm right here."

"What took you so long?" Sparx asked.

"I was finishing an experiment." Gibson replied shortly.

"All that matters is that you're here now and we can eat." Chiro said as he sat down opposite from Antauri.

"Amen." Gidget, Otto and Sparx said in prefect unison.

"Chow time!" Otto cheered as he and Sparx attacked the mountain of waffles. Nova rolled her eyes and used her fork to stab Sparx's hand. He pulled it back in pain and stuck it in his mouth. She smiled and grabbed some waffles off the top.

Otto gave half of his pile(which was half of the waffles) to Gidget and Geni.

"Here you go lil' sis." He said as he poured a boatful of syrup on top of Genesis's stack. She smile happily to say thank you and dug in.

Antauri used his mind powers to take a couple from the top and set them on his plate. Gibson, Chiro and Jinmay calmly got the rest.

"This is wonderful!" Gidget said through a mouthful of food.

Jinmay and Otto smiled at each other.

"Glad you like them." Jinmay said.

"Who couldn't?" Nova asked, "You're a great cook."

"Yeah," Sparx chimed in, "You can cook and are quite a looker, Kid you did good picking this one." he winked at Chiro and motioned towards Jinmay. They both blushed as Nova elbowed Sparx. Gidget couldn't help but notice that it wasn't really that hard of a hit.

Gidget smiled as she watched her new family. Otto sat to her right, talking happily with Jinmay right beside him about what to make tomorrow for breakfast. Chiro sat at the head of the table, watched in amusement as Sparx and Nova playfully teased each other. Gibson and Antauri were in a discussion involving the morals behind time travel, and Geni was watching every one with big, happy, pink eyes.

Gidget was so happy in that one moment that she had almost pushed her dreams out of her mind.

Who knew everything could go so wrong in such a short amount of time? And all over one simple question.

"Do you think the Super Robot would like some waffles?" Gidget asked her tablemates suddenly.

Every one stopped and looked at her for a minute. Finally the silence was broken by Sparx's snickering.

"How would we give them to him?" He asked through snickers.

"Well at least you could offer them to him." Gidget said simply, she didn't understand what was so funny about that. Gidget started to take another bit of her waffles.

"And why would we feel the need to do that?" Gibson asked, Gidget dropped her fork on her plate and stared at incredibly.

"Because he's your team mate." She answered seriously. Gibson chuckled at this and Sparx started to laugh. Nova smiled at Gidget.

"But he doesn't eat." Nova tried to explain to her.

"True," Gibson added, " He doesn't have an appetite. He is only a robot, after all." Gidget gasped at them.

"Only a robot?" She asked, fury growing in her voice.

"Well yes, it's not like he has a soul or anything." Gibson said matter-as-factly.

"What?" Gidget half laughed half coughed. Chiro could tell this was turning sour quickly.

"Hey now, calm down." He tried to reason with Gidget.

She turned to Chiro with fire in her previously happy eyes.

"Why?!" Gidget asked. "You guys can't be serious." She looked around the table, "Do you really think he doesn't have a soul?"

"Of course not." Gibson said.

"No." Sparx.

"Why would we?" Nova.

"Hey now, it really doesn't matter-" Chiro tried again.

"DOESN'T MATTER?!" Gidget echoed as she slammed her hands against the table. "Are you all insane? Why wouldn't it?"

"Gidget what is wrong with you?" Gibson asked.

"Yeah," Sparx agreed, "Why are you taking this personally?"

"Gidget." Nova said, a little irritated.

"How can you guys say that about him?" Gidget yelled at them across the table. She was slowly starting to rise out of her seat.

"It's not like he has feelings or a soul." Gibson said indifferently. Gidget froze in place and kept her head down. No one could see her face.

"Gidget…" Otto said trying to calm her down.

"No Otto." Gidget snapped, she seemed on the verge of tears. "It's not my fault they're to stupid to notice that there are two robots sitting at this table right now!" Every gasped at this. She was right.

Antauri and Jinmay just sat quietly in their seats.

"They- they don't count." Sparx stammered, "Their different."

"Yeah," Nova agreed, then she turned to Antauri and Jinmay, "We know you two have souls, it's different."

"How is it different?!" Gidget screamed at her.

"We-well…" Nova tried to answer.

"Because they are capable of individual thought and movement." Gibson answered sternly.

"What do you call what Super Robot did the other day?" Gidget yelled furiously. She was referring to the fact Super Robot had moved independently during their battle with Skeleton King.

"Simply defense mode." Gibson explained. "It was probably triggered when you flipped that switch."

"What about the times he moved on his own," Gidget said through gritted teeth, "_Before I even came here_?"

"Frayed wiring." Gibson said calmly.

"You honestly don't believe that pile of scrap you just said, do you?" Gidget asked him.

"Of course I do, Gibson explained, "It's logical. A soul can not possess a robot."

"What is Antauri?"

"The Power Primate is fused with his soul." Gibson snapped, "Besides, he regularly communi-" Gibson stopped himself, but not soon enough.

"He what?" Gidget asked viciously, "What were you going to say, Gibson?" Gibson remained silent and looked away.

"Where you going to say communicates?" Gidget finished for him. "Are you saying it's only because he _talks_ to you? Is that the only reason he has a soul?"

"Gidget," Gibson tried to say, "That's not what I meant-"

"I guess that means Geni doesn't have a soul either," Gidget said, her voice raising with every word. " Because she. Can't. Talk!" She was screaming by now, and breathing heavily. No one know what to say to that.

She glanced around and dared anyone to question her. She stood there a moment longer. Finally, she pushed her chair back so quickly it fell to the ground with a loud clatter. She stalked out of the room with her fists clenched at her sides.

"Honestly guys," She said calmly. It was such a contrast to the screaming only a moment ago that it stung more than the yelling.

"I thought you guys were better than that. I was wrong." With that she left the room.

* * *

Whoa, what's this?

Gidget can get very protective of her friends, can't she?

We had such a happy moment there.

Well don't worry, things will get better in a little bit. (I think…)

R&R help me work faster!


	15. Episode 52: Alive Part 2

I'm sorry this is sooooo late!

Please forgive me!

* * *

**Ch.15**

Everyone sat there in silence for a moment, they were stunned that Gidget could get so mad in such a short amount of time.

The silence was broken only by Geni's gentle sobbing. She began to shake visibly. Otto slide over towards her and put his arm gently around her.

"Hey now, Lil' sis." Otto said tenderly. "It's okay." He soothed her.

"What was that?" Sparx asked in disbelieve. "Has she ever done anything like that before?"

Everyone looked at Geni for the answer, she wiped her eyes and looked at Antauri to translate.

"Yes," He said solemnly, "She has, but only on a few rare occasions."

"What caused her to flip out like that?" Nova asked, she didn't know Gidget could get made like that. She had only ever seen her as the silly, happy-go-lucky girl they all knew and were starting to love.

But the Gidget they had just saw was angry and furious, so angry in fact she reminded Nova of…

_You. She reminds you of yourself._

'_Yeah, maybe. But I don't act like that when I'm mad, do I?_'

_Sometimes, sometimes you just hit people then go sulk in your room._

Geni looked at Antauri again.

"She said it was caused by someone trying to harm Genesis." Antauri translated.

"But we didn't threaten you," Sparx pleaded, "Did we?"

Geni shook her head but sighed quietly.

"No." Antauri confirmed, "But you threaten her friend."

"Who?" Gibson asked confused.

Otto looked at him and answered, "The Super Robot, duh."

The table sat there awkwardly before Chiro cleared his throat.

"Well this was an eventful breakfast," he said.

"I'll clean up." Jinmay offered quietly. She stood up and started taking plates.

"You know we weren't talking about you," Nova said to Antauri and Jinmay, "Right?"

"Oh, I know." She said with a smile that looked fake.

"I'm going to my room to meditate." Was the only response they got from Antauri. Everyone separated after that.

Gibson headed to his lab, Sparx went for a flight, Nova went to go train, and Otto took Geni back to her and Gidget's room.

"Are you ok Lil sis?" He asked. He had his hand resting gently on her shoulder. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were a bit pinker than usual.

"Hey, it's ok." Otto said encouragingly. "Gidg just got a little upset. I'm sure she just has to cool off for a few minutes, then everything will be alright."

Geni nodded, but she didn't look convinced. Otto sighed as they approached her bedroom door and hesitated before opening the door.

"Do you think she's in there?" Otto asked. Geni shook her head and opened the door. Sure enough Gidget was no where to be seen. Geni silently went over to her backpack. It was the only possessions that she and Gidget had from their old life.

Well, the wreak that was their space ship was sitting in Otto's garage as of now, but it was just a twisted hunk of metal right now. Nothing could be done with it.

Geni pulled a pad of paper and colored pencils out of the bag.

"Are you going to draw a picture?" Otto asked. Geni looked at him before she flipped the cover over and wrote something down.

"_It's so I can talk to everyone." _She wrote, _"I'm going to the Command Center."_ She showed Otto and walked out of her room. Otto stood in the room awkwardly for a few seconds before he let hurriedly.

"Hey," Otto called back down the hall at Geni. "Do you know where Gidget might be?" Geni used the pencil in her hand to point up before turning back around and walking towards the Command Center.

* * *

Gidget was furious. She was so mad she couldn't think straight.

_Gidget, it's all right. _The Super Robot tried to assure her. _I'm use to it, you don't have to defend me. _

"But I can talk for you now. You shouldn't have to listen to that." Gidget said angrily. She was pacing back and forth on the Robot's shoulder.

_It doesn't bother me anymore, really. _

"Well it should." Gidget snapped. She finally sat down on the edge of the robot and sighed.

_You don't have to do everything you know. If I really wanted to contact them I would._

"Then why don't you?"

_Because they wouldn't understand. Think about it, if your house just started talking to you, How would you react? Give them time, I have plenty of it. I've wait a hundred years for them to notice me and they finally are. Let fate take it's own course, it's enough for me just to have you to talk to. Besides, you're showing Otto how to communicate with me too. That's two friends more than I've ever had. _

Gidget sighed, "I hear you. But I still don't like them saying you have no soul."

_Gibson in hard headed, it will take a while before he understands that I can feel. Everything is 'Science and Logic' with him. _

Gidget giggled, "Yeah, your right."

_Glad you see it my way, now will you go apologize for freaking out in front of the team?_

"Yeah, I'll go in a minute," Gidget said with a faint smile, "But first I want them to feel bad about what they said."

_You are a sick, sick monkey. Gidget, you worry me sometimes…_

* * *

Gibson abstinently poured different chemicals together and wrote down the reactions he saw. He didn't understand Gidget at all. She was freaking out for no reason. It was only the Super Robot after all. He had indulged her little fantasy while they battled Skeleton King, but honestly the girl had to grow up at some point. No doubt, Otto had helped fueled her delusions to such a point that they would not be able to drag her back from them.

There was just no way that the Super Robot was sentient, right? Of course, what was he thinking? The Robot was only a robot after all. But there was those time he moved on his own…

A defense system no doubt, just like he told Gidget. They had not created the Robot, there was lots of things they didn't know about it.

Gidget just needed to be woken up from her little fantasy, then she would see how ridicules she had been behaving. Soon or later she would see the error of her ways.

And Gibson preferred sooner rather than later.

* * *

Otto cautiously walked out onto the Robot's shoulder and looked for Gidget. She was sitting with her back turned to him. Her feet dangling off the side of the Robot.

"Gidget?" He called from the relative safety of the elevator. She turned and looked at him.

"Yeah, Otto?" She asked simply, no hint of the anger that was previously there.

"Just checking up on you." He said as he inched his way on to the Robot's shoulder. He wanted to stay near the elevator encase her temperance changed suddenly again. She sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Annoyed, but fine."

"That's good." Otto said simply. They stayed in relative silence for a minute before Otto gave in and sat down beside her. "You want talk about it?"

"No." Gidget said shortly, "I want everyone to realize that the Super Robot has feelings too. I don't get it, they've seen what he can do. Why do they still deny his soul?" Otto just shrugged.

"I don't know."

Gidget smiled at his simple answer. Otto was so easy for her to get along with, Why couldn't everyone be like him?

"Well I'm not mad at you if you were wondering that." She said as she leaned back on her hands. "I know you believed me when I said the Robot could think for himself."

Otto leaned forward and placed his arms on his legs.

"I think," he started, "That the reason everyone has a hard time thinking of the Robot as 'alive' because he rarely ever did anything on his own. Until you came, I could have counted all the time the Robot had acted on his own on one hand."

"Otto you can only count up to one hand anyways." A voice suddenly said behind them. They both turned around to see Sparx leaning up against the elevator frame grinning.

Gidget's smiling face quickly dissolved. She might not be mad at Otto, but she was still furious at Sparx.

"What do you want?" She asked shortly. Sparx held his hands up in defense and smiled.

"Calm down, Meteor. I wanted to say something." He said. "I was out on a joy ride and saw you two up here. I just though I would stop in for a minute."

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier." Sparx continued as he sucked up his pride and looked down. "I shouldn't have made fun of you earlier." Gidget raised an eyebrow at him. "You or the Super Robot." Sparx finished.

Gidget sat there with her arms crossed staring at him.

"Well?" She asked, Sparx looked at her confused. "Aren't you going to say you're sorry to Super Robot?"

Sparx turned around and stared at the face of his home. He might not understand all that technical mumbo-jumbo, but something that Gidget had said earlier to him stuck with him.

"Heart of the Machine." He muttered under his breath. He took a deep breath.

"Super Robot?" Sparx said unsure, "I'm sorry." Gidget looked up at the Super Robot, stood there silent for a second and said:

"He forgives you." Sparx sighed.

"Good, I pilot his hand I figure the last thing I want to do it get him peeved at me." Gidget rolled her eyes at him, but finally broke a smile.

"So, are we good?" He asked.

Gidget tilted her head to the side and thought about it. She brushed herself off and walked over to Sparx and gave him a quick hug.

"Yup, we're good." Sparx was caught off guard at first, but embraced her hug and smiled.

"Good, cause Giggles," he said as he pulled back. "You scare the exhaust outta me when you get mad. How 'bout we all head down to the Command Center now?"

"Okay." Gidget said.

"Sounds good to me." Otto piped in.

The trio laughed and joked as they walked back to the command center. They passed the combat room and Gidget stopped. The boys kept walking for a couple of feet before they noticed that she wasn't following them anymore. Both turned around to catch site of a purple tail as it disappeared into the combat room. Otto and Sparx shrugged at each other and kept walking to the main room.

Gidget watched quietly as Nova ducked and punched the computer controlled battle pillars gracefully.

Nova was concentrating so hard, she didn't notice Gidget as she quietly entered and leaned against the wall.

'_Could she be right? Could the Super Robot be alive?'_

_Well I don't see why not. If you consider Jinmay and Antauri 'alive', then why can't the robot be 'alive'? _

'_Well, because…'_

_What is it? What makes him different?_

'_It's just it's hard to think that we live inside of a living being. It's kinda creepy.'_

For once Nova didn't receive answer. She enjoyed the silence.

"Man I wish I was as good as you are." Gidget suddenly commented. It surprised Nova and she quickly turned around to face Gidget, thus causing a mechanical fist to punch her in the back of the head and knock her to the floor.

Gidget gasped and ran towards Nova. The computer stopped without being told to as Gidget leaned down beside Nova and helped her up.

"Oh god, I'm sooo sorry!" Gidget said as Nova leaned against her and tried to clear her fuzzy head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Nova assured her as she rubbed the bruise from the fist. "When did you get in here?"

"A couple of minutes ago. I thought you saw me, but were just ignoring me." Gidget answered as they walked over to the bench on the other side of the room.

"Oh, well when did you stop being mad at me?" Nova asked as she sat down.

"When I made you get punched in the head by the mechanical fist." Gidget said as she looked at Nova's head.

"Well that's good." Nova sighed, "You can get pretty serious when you're mad, can't you?"

"Yeah, I sorry about that," Gidget said as she stopped messing with Nova's bruise. "but I just get so defensive of my friends."

"I could tell." Nova stated. After an awkward moment of silence Nova began again.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about this morning. I shouldn't have said those things, you were right. If Antauri and Jinmay have souls, then the Super Robot can have one too."

"He does have one." Gidget corrected. "And I'm tired of people saying that he doesn't."

"He does have one." Nova echoed. "Do I need to apologize to him?"

"No, not after he hit you in the head. Consider yourselves even." Nova started snickering.

Then she started laughing and Gidget joined in too.

"What do you say about us heading down to join the rest of the team?" Nova asked as she got up, Gidget nodded and Nova spoke again.

"Now to only figure out where they are."

"I know!" Gidget said happily. She grabbed Nova's hand and pulled her towards the Command Center, both of them giggling all the way.

* * *

Sparx and Otto walked into the Command Center and saw Chiro sitting on the floor and playing a video game while Genesis was sitting against the wall, drawing in her book.

"Hey guys." Chiro said as he gave them a quick glance. "Wanna play a game?"

"Yeah!" Otto cheered as he ran over and grab a control.

"I'll pass for now." Sparx said. Chiro and Otto glanced at each other, Sparx never turned down video games. They both shrugged and started their race.

Sparx walked over to were Genesis was sitting.

"Hey Princess," He said happily, "Wha'ch doing over here?" She didn't say anything to him- which he really didn't except her to- and just kept drawing.

"You drawing a picture?" Sparx asked as he sat down beside her. She didn't even look up at him.

"Aw, don't tell me that you are mad at me too." Sparx said, but she was still silent. Sparx sighed and turned his attention to Chiro.

"So Kid, where is your girlfriend?"

"She went home. She said she wasn't feeling good." Chiro answered. Sparx sighed, was there any girl on the team that was happy today?

As soon as he thought this, Gidget and Nova entered the room hand-in-hand and laughing like loons.

"Well hello ladies." Sparx said as he winked at them. They looked at each other, Gidget giggled and Nova rolled her eyes.

"Hey Gidget, is Geni mad at me or some thing? She won't say a word." Sparx said with a half joking tone.

Gidget leaned over so she could look pass Sparx and saw Geni drawing furiously. She shook her head.

"She's not ignoring you, that's pretty hard to do, she just can't hear you. She's drawing the future."

The team stopped what they were doing and slowly turned to look at Gidget.

"What?" Chiro asked as his player in the game fell into a river of lave.

"Geni can sometimes draw the future." Gidget repeated, "I didn't tell you guys this when we first came here?"

"No!" They all said in unison.

"So she can teleport and see the future?" Otto asked.

"Draw it." Gidget corrected, "She goes into this trance, it's like her body goes on auto-pilot. She doesn't even realizes what she's doing till she's done with the picture."

As if on cue, Geni put down her pencil and her eyes cleared. She momentarily glanced down at the picture she had just drawn and gasped. Sparx leaned over and tilted his head.

"What the heck?" He asked as Gidget rushed over and looked at the page.

"Oh no."

"What?" Nova asked as she too tried to look at the picture. "What is it?"

"It's a picture of one of those big skeleton pterodactyl crashing into the robot." Gidget said.

"Well when will that-?" Chiro started as the robot was suddenly jerked to the side and everyone fell to the ground. Alarms started blaring as everyone stood up.

"Otto! Get us a visual on screen! I want to know what just happened." Chiro yelled. As Otto began to turn around to face the computer, it suddenly turned on to a security feed outside the robot that showed a giant skeletal pterodactyl flying around the robot.

Antauri and Gibson rushed into the room.

"What was that?" Gibson asked.

"No time." Chiro snapped. "Monkeys, Mobilize!"

Everyone ran to their colored tubes and Gidget followed suit. Geni sat on the ground and watched as they all zipped up their tubes and into their vehicles.

* * *

And there we have it!

I made a new poll because I want to know what stories you would most like to see update.

Please tell me!

Okay, I'm out.


	16. Episode 52: Alive Part 3

There is no good explanation as to why this is so late.

* * *

Ch. 16

Gidget had started to get use to the tubes, so when she got to the sharp turn she was able to deflect herself so she didn't slam against the wall.

"Alright!" She cheered as she suddenly smashed against the floor of the tail slitherer seven."Ow." She said as she stood up and walked to the controls. Her computer screens reviled the team's faces as they patiently waited for her.

"You've got to get faster at this." Chiro commented as he smiled, slightly amused.

"Yeah, yeah." Gidget replied as she jumped on the handles. Everyone looked at her expectantly and waited. "What?" She asked.

"You have to yell the name of your vehicle and tell it to go." Otto answered. Gidget tilted her head to the side.

"Tail Slitherer Seven, Go?" She asked confused.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Six, Go!" Nova yelled.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Five, Go!" Otto said next.

"Fist Rocket Four, Go!"

"Fist Rocket Three, Go!"

"Brain Scrambler Pilot Two, Go!"

"Torso Tank Driver One, Go!"

"Super!"

"Robot!"

"Monkey!"

"Team!"

"Hyper!"

"Force!"

"we say the next part together." Otto whispered to Gidget.

"Go!"

"G-go!" Gidget said a beat after everyone else.

"Don't worry Giggles," Sparx said, "You'll get it."

"Why do you do this, now?" Gidget asked confused as the Robot started up.

"Tradition." Chiro answered. Gidget just shook her head as the Robot turned around to face the giant dinosaur. It squawked loudly and tried to dive in and tackle them, but the Fist rockets quickly grabbed it and held it in place.

"We need to get that thing out of the city!" Chiro yelled. "Nova, Otto, walk us out of here. Gibson, Sparx, don't let that thing go."

"Understood." Everyone yelled.

"So you guys yell at the Super Robot, but you don't think he's 'alive'?" Gidget clarified.

"Not now Gidget." Gibson said as he struggled to hold on to the skeleton dinosaur.

"I'm just trying to understand your _logic_, Gibson." Gidget said bitterly.

"Oh, When will you get out of your little fantasy world?" Gibson snapped at her. "You need to realize that it is completely ridicules to think that the robot actually has feelings!"

"And you need to open you eyes and look at all the evidence to the contrary!" Gidget yelled as she leaned forward.

"Now listen-" Gibson said as he took his hand off one of the handles to point at the computer screen. The pterodactyl wiggled out of the Fist Rocket Four's grip and shot to the sky with an earsplitting screech.

"Gibson!" Everyone yelled in unison at the befuddled scientist.

"Bu-wha-? It was Gidget's fault!" He stammered.

"Turn around." Gidget suddenly ordered.

"What?" Chiro asked confused.

"I need you guys to turn around the Robot." Gidget said, "Hurry."

Chiro nodded for Otto and Nova to comply and the Robot's back was turned to the flying menace."What are you planning to do?" Chiro asked Gidget as she pressed several buttons in quick succession.

"To fix Gibson's mess." She answered as the Tail Slitherer bunched up like a slinky. Gidget waited for the dinosaur to center up in her cross-hairs.

"Got it!" She yelled as it centered. She pushed a button and the Tail Slither detached from the Robot and was launched at lighting speeds. It hit the pterodactyl directly in the chest and she quickly pulled all the handles in different directions and the tail wrapped around the dinosaur and completely immobilized included it's wings. Gidget and the now grounded menace started a dive-bomb to the hard cement below.

"Grab her!" Chiro Fist Rockets shot out and grabbed the wiggling mass before it had a chance to smash into the ground.

"Hurry up- and-" Gidget struggled to say as she labored on the controls. "fly us- out - of the city."

"I believe Gidget has the right idea." Antauri said, "Listen to team nodded and they were soon flying over the city and almost to the Tail Slitherer groaned ominously as sweat poured down Gidget's face.

"Could we hurry this up a little?" She asked exhausted.

"Just a little bit longer Gidget." Chiro said. "Alright team, prepare to land." They descended slowly to the ground and set the beast down. "All right now, Gidget get ready to get out of the way as soon as you let go." Chiro told the tired violet monkey. "Everyone else get ready to smash this thing as soon as she is clear. Understood?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good." Antauri said as he got ready to attack, "On my count then, one…two…three!" Gidget yelled as she unwrapped from the beast and slid away quickly. The team quickly hit it with everything they had and it disengaged into a pile of gore.

"Gross." Gidget said as she slid back to the robot and reattached the tail. The team flew in relative silence back to the city. When they finally landed Antauri's face came on screen.

"Team meeting in the Command Center." Antauri said forcibly "Now. We need to discuss this, _situation._" Geni watched as everyone slide down their tubes at their own speed, Gidget was last to appear. She rubbed her sore arms as she walked toward the team. Gibson and Gidget glared at each other the moment she exited her tube. They held their stares, neither one willing to admitting defeat.

"Well that was fun." Sparx joked, trying his best to stop the fight that was about to start. Gidget and Gibson both ignored him.

"You could have tried harder to hold on to that thing." Gidget finally said, stoking the flames of the fire.

"I believe it was your endless nagging that forced me to lose focus." Gibson snapped back.

"Well if you would stop being so gosh darn pig head," Gidget said as she clenched her fist to her sides, "you would realize what an idiot you have been!"

"I will not suffer through your meager delusions any longer!" Gibson yelled, "You need to grow up and admit to the farce you have been telling the team."

"No! You need to open your own eyes to the evidence all around you, Gibson!" Gidget pleaded.

"There is no possible way that the Super Robot is alive!" Gibson retorted. "He. Is. Just. A. MACHINE!" Gidget stood stock still for a moment, her eyes wide with shock. Slowly she tilted her head down.

"Take it back." She whispered through gritted teeth. Her fists shook violently at her sides.

"What? Do you honestly except me to say that it is alive?" Gibson asked as he crossed his arms, "Outrageous. Stop these outlandish accusations."

"Gibson," Gidget said oddly calm, "Take it back right now, for your safety."

"And why should I do that?" Gibson asked pompously.

"I think you should listen to her." Otto warned.

"Oh this is ridicules." Gibson sighed exasperated. "There is no reason that I should-" Gidget punched him in the face. It was quick and it sent Gibson straight to the floor. Before anyone could register what had just happened, Gidget was towering over Gibson. Her head tilted down, so it was impossible to see her facial expression.

"Take it BACK!" She screamed at him. She lifted up her face and it was streamed with tears. Gibson rubbed his face distractedly.

"No." He answered simply. "I won't!" He said this time with more anger. Gidget lifted her hand up to strike him again, but before she could issue the blow, a calm silver hand grabbed hers. She whirled around and faced Antauri's collected face.

"Gidget," He said quietly, "Stop, you're not mad. He is, you're feeding off his anger."

"No I am not." Gidget said simply while trying to pull away from Antauri's cool grip. He grabbed her other hand to stop her struggling. He pulled her hands down and held them in front of his waist

"Yes you are." Antauri corrected her as he looked deep into her eyes. He calmly turned to the team.

"Take Gibson to the medical bay." Everyone stood frozen. "Now." Sparx quickly helped Gibson up, and in between him and Otto, they swiftly walked towards the medical bay. Nova had her arm around Geni's shoulders and she gently led her out. Chiro was last to follow.

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked when he got to the door.

Antauri shook his head, "Just make sure everyone stays away for a little while." Chiro glanced unsure from Gidget to Antauri then walked out of the room. After everyone left, Antauri turned and faced Gidget. Tears streamed down her face. "Gidget." He said her name with no emotion. She glared at him for a long second, the anger still bubbling inside of her, then her gaze softened and she pulled her hands away. It was gone, the anger was spent. She sighed deeply as she walked over to one of the chairs and sat down in it. She buried her face in her hands and would not look at Antauri. He walked in front of her with his arms crossed.

"Why is it you have so many mental blocks, but no emotional ones?" He finally asked her.

"I don't know." Came the muffled reply.

"Gidget," Antauri said her name again, "this team will not tolerate that kind of behavior. You need to calm down and learn to control your wayward emotions. This is twice in one day you have exploded at another teammate." Gidget just looked at the floor and said nothing. Antauri sighed. "I know it is tough," He continued, "Why do you think I remain so stoic? People who are clairvoyant must learn to ignore the vibes you feel from other people. I know how easily other people project on you. You must learn to ignore the emotions that this team projects."

"I know." Gidget answered softly.

"I could teach you some tricks that would help you manage your impulses." Antauri said calmly.

Gidget winched, "That would mean meditation, wouldn't it?" Antauri smiled faintly and nodded. Gidget sighed heavily but agreed.

"Good," Antauri stated, "But until you learn those techniques, I think it would be best it you stayed out of reach of Gibson's wrath while I talk to him."

"I didn't hit him that hard." Gidget mumbled to herself.

Antauri shook his head, "It doesn't matter, we do not hit other teammates outside of combat practice. I do not want to see another outbreak like this. Am I understood?" Gidget nodded and got up to leave. Antauri watched her leave then turned and walked towards the medical bay.

* * *

Gibson's ranting could be heard down the hall.

"This is completely unacceptable!" He yelled as Otto applied a bandage to his face. "She can not be allowed to walk freely about the robot!"

"Hey Brain Strain, calm down." Sparx said as he leaned against a table. "You pushed her too far."

"Well she keeps insisting that the robot is alive." Gibson complained.

"And who says he isn't?" Otto asked.

"Your constant agreement with her fuels her delusions, you know." Gibson snapped.

"Who says they are delusions?" Sparx asked as he crossed his arms.

Gibson gasped, "SPRX-77 I would have thought you more intelligent than that."

"He's just saying you should lay off her, that's all." Chiro explained. Gibson mumbled to himself angrily. "Don't make me make that an order." Chiro warned as Antauri walked in. Gibson eyes narrowed and He jumped down from the table and stormed towards the calm Antauri.

"Is that what you meant when you say we 'need to discuss this'?" Gibson fumed.

"No." Antauri answered calmly.

"I would like to log a formal complaint against her and put her on probation." Gibson continued.

"She basically is." Antauri said with a shrug.

"I want it official." Gibson pushed.

"I don't believe that is necessary." Antauri answered as he walked passed him.

"This is how Mandarin started." Gibson said quietly. The comment echoed through the deathly silent room." Otto let the bottle of alcohol he had been holding slip from his grasp and shatter against the floor. Everyone turned and looked at him.

"No." He said whispered, "She wouldn't turn into him." He ran up to Gibson. "She would never turn against us." He said forcibly.

"You said the same thing about Mandarin." Gibson said.

"Gibson," Chiro said, "Stop."

"Why?" He asked as he faced the leader. "This is exactly how he acted before he turned. Who says she won't-"

"No!" Otto yelled as he furiously shook his head, "You're wrong, she wouldn't, she couldn't and she won't!" He glared at Gibson and walked out of the room. "And the Robot _is _alive. You're just too stubborn to see it."

* * *

Gidget walked around the robot silently. She let her thoughts fall back to nightmare she had had this morning. Who were the voices? What were they talking to her about? Where did she know them from? She groaned in frustration and slammed her hand against the wall.

_I'm so tired of all these emotions flying around that I have no control over. Was I always like this? _She asked herself as she stopped outside of Nova's door. She looked at it and knocked.

"Come in." Nova's voice rang. The door opened and Gidget walked in and saw Geni sitting on the floor playing with Nova's stuffed animals.

"Hey!" Nova said happily, "You didn't tell me Geni loved dolls." The remark was so calm, so normal that Gidget couldn't help but smile.

"She adores them, hey, I need a place to hide so Gibson doesn't kill me, but I don't want to be alone, wanna hang out?"

"Course!" Nova answered happily.

_Act calm, don't get mad or freaked out, she will know._

'_I know that, you don't have to remind me.'_

_I was just making sure, I can never tell with you. _

'_Shut up, I can handle this myself.'_

"What do you want to do?" Nova asked happily.

"I don't know, wanna go to the city?" Gidget asked.

"Sounds good to me, you and Geni head on down, I'll tell Antauri we're going out." Nova said. Gidget stood up and smiled as she and Geni walked out of the room. Nova swiftly moved through the robot looking for Antauri. He walked out of the med bay right as she rounded the corner.

"Hey Antauri!" She called as she jogged towards him, "Me, Gidget and Geni are heading to the city."

Antauri nodded, "Good, getting out of the robot might be best for all. Where are you ladies planning on going?"

"Just wandering around." Nova answered. "How is Gibson?"

"Angry but unhurt." Antauri answered. "Perhaps if he too got out for a while he might calm down." Nova nodded.

"Okay, you take the boys and the girls will go with me. See ya later!" Nova said as she turned to leave.

"Nova," Antauri said, "Otto is a little upset with Gibson right now-the reason doesn't matter at this moment- Do you think the ladies would mind him tagging along with you instead of going with us?"

Nova smiled broadly, "I doubt it, they love him. I'll go ask him if he wants to join us." She turned and waved as she jogged towards Otto's room. Sparx walked out of the med bay just as Nova turned the corner and left.

"Where is she off to?" Sparx asked. Antauri turned to him and answered.

"The ladies and Otto are going to the city for a while, perhaps we should get Gibson and Chiro and follow their example. In separate groups of course."

"Aw," Sparx whined over dramatically, "Why does Otto get to go with the hot chicks but we get stuck with Gibson?"

"Because he needs you more than you need to watch the ladies." Antauri said as he turned back into the med bay. "Come on now, getting out will give us some much needed air."

* * *

Otto had been more than happy to join the ladies group and the four set off for the shopping district of Shugazoom. This was the first time Geni had really gotten to see the city, so she was excitably running from one place to another, trying to take in all the sights of Shugazoom. The afternoon sun was high in the sky, but it was a comfortable 70 degrees with a slight breeze that ruffled the four monkey's fur. Gidget's tail waved back and forth as she glanced through the windows of the stores.

"This is a nice day," Gidget comment happily.

"Tell me about," Otto said, "It's just- naw, never mind."

"What?" Nova asked, "What's wrong?"

"Does today's attack bother anyone else?" Otto asked, "I mean, one monster then nothing else? That's not S.K.'s style, especially not in a war."

Nova stopped in her tracks, "You're right, that is weird. Something's up."

"Like what?" Gidget asked as she grabbed her tail and fiddled with it.

"I don't know." Nova said, "But perhaps we should call the team and discuss this."

"You mean we have to talk to Gibson?" Gidget asked deflated.

"Yeah," Otto chimed in sourly, "Do we?"

"Yes," Nova said motherly, "We need to alert the team-" A high pitch screech echoed through the city. Waves of Formless stormed out of the ally ways and side streets. Citizens ran in fear, Nova and Otto transformed their weapons and took a defensive stance. Gidget grabbed Geni's hand and pulled towards the side of a department store.

"Get somewhere safe." Gidget said firmly. Geni nodded and closed her eyes. She disappeared and Gidget ran towards Nova and Otto as she transformed her own hands.

"Now can I call the team?" Nova asked as soon as Gidget and joined them again.

"Yes," Gidget said reluctantly, "I guess that would be a good idea."

* * *

The guys walked quietly through the city, Gibson was mad, Antauri was silent and Sparx and Chiro walked behind them awkwardly. Chiro had vote this day to be a total disaster.

"This day was a total disaster." Gibson huffed angrily.

"Look on the bright side," Sparx said, "At least it can't get worse."

"Nova to Chiro, Chiro do you read me?" Nova's voice came through the communicator, "I need you guys to pick up."

"What's up Nova?" Chiro asked as he answered his communicator.

"We've got a whole mess of Formless sweeping through the town square right now. Me, Gidget, and Otto could use some back up."

"You just had to say it." Gibson glared at Sparx, "You just had to open your big mouth."

"No time to argue team," Chiro said, "They are only a few blocks away, let's go help them."

"Do you think we should get the Robot?" Sparx asked suddenly.

"Oh no," Gibson replied sarcastically, "If we really need help, _It _will come to us." He sprinted down the street, "Let's just go get this over with."

Chiro and Sparx shrugged and followed Gibson. Antauri lingered a moment longer before he too followed them.

* * *

"Laser Taser!" Gidget yelled as she vaporized the Formless in front of her. She was proud of the new move she had learned yesterday, it was like a much smaller scale Ray Blast Death Attack, perfect for fighting in the city. "Where the heck did all these guys come from?" Gidget called to Nova.

"The Formless fairy," She answered sarcastically.

"There's a Formless Fairy?" Otto and Gidget asked in unison. Nova rolled her eyes and punched the Formless in front of her who turned into a pile of mush.

"No," She said finally, "I was joking, how the heck am I suppose to know where they came from?"

"I thought you were the battle expert," Gidget said innocently, "You told me you knew every thing in battle." Nova turned around and glared at Gidget, but she realized the Gidget wouldn't understand so she turned back around and fought off more Formless. Gidget looked at Otto and shrugged.

"That's what she told me." Gidget said simply before turning back to the Formless in front of her.

"I think she was boasting," Otto said, "And most of the time she does know what's going on. We haven't had a Formless attack in the city like this for months."

"Oh," Gidget said, "Is this a bad thing then?"

"I don't know." Otto answered her. "But I know it's odd."

"Will you two quit yappin' and help me fight these guys?" Nova asked sharply.

"Well, there's to many buildings around to use my boom bombs, I could hurt some one. So all my most powerful attacks are useless." Gidget said matter-of-factly.

"Great, that's just great." Nova said exasperated, "Now what are we going to do?"

"Maybe I can be of some help?" Sparx asked as he electrocuted the Formless standing in between him and Nova. He ran up to her and winked, "Ya miss me?"

"No," Nova answered with a sly smile, "I was enjoying the company of Gidget and Otto and their incisive chattering." Nova returned Sparx's wink, "Thanks for joining the party though."

"I'm always at my lady's service." Sparx said with a quick bow before he used his jet pack to fly up.

"I'm not your lady!" Nova yelled at him as he flew away. She smiled to herself and kept fighting.

"Hello Otto, hello Gidget," Antauri said as he landed beside them, "Where is Genesis?"

"Hiding," Gidget answered, "She doesn't have any battle equipment but she has plenty of defense tactics." Antauri nodded.

"Report team." Chiro said as he kicked a Formless.

"They came out of no where." Otto replied, "And they keep multiplying."

"Wonderful." Chiro huffed as he dodged an attack. Chiro looked around him, several of their other allies had joined the battle, but the numbers were still against them. "It isn't so bad," He commented, "Could be worse."

"Don't say that." Gibson warned, "That's exactly what Sparx said-" A horrifying screech cut through the battle commotion. Not one, but ten of the pterodactyls were flying through the city were making nest out of the highest buildings. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Gibson glared at Chiro.

"I warned you." He said simply.

"Now should we get the Super Robot?" Sparx asked.

"I think that would be the best idea," Chiro said as he backed up. He turned to Johnny Sunspot. "You've got this?" He asked.

"You bet," Johnny said with a thumbs up, "You guys take care of the giant birds."

"Team, let's go!" Chiro yelled as everyone turned around headed back towards the robot. As they were running Geni materialized beside of Gidget and looked at her.

"We're heading back to the Robot." She yelled at her, Geni nodded and disappeared again.

"Where is she going?" Sparx yelled back.

"Somewhere safe." Gidget replied as she turned her attention back in front of her and came to a skidding stop. There was a barricade of Formless between the team and the robot.

"We can't get through that many!" Otto yelled as he glanced behind him, the pterodactyls were perching on the buildings and making debris fall on the fighters below. "By the time we fight them all the city will be gone!"

"Maybe it can fight them for us." Gibson remarked to Gidget. She glared at him and started to open her mouth when she glanced behind him and smiled slyly to herself.

"Maybe he will." Gidget said with a smirk as she crossed her arms. Everyone followed her stare and gasped. The robot lifted its foot and hovered it over the wall of Formless. It brought it down with such a force that the team fell to the ground. Gidget started giggling uncontrollably as Gibson watch amazed.

"That funny defense system is kicking in without the Robot even being in trouble." Gidget giggled. Gibson stared at her with a shocked look on his face as the robot stomped past them. He grabbed one of the flying menaces from it's makeshift perch and threw it to the ground. It exploded with an earth shattering splat and shot goo a hundred feet in the air.

"I think Super Robot's got the flying freaks." Gidget said as she stood up and dusted herself off. "We can get the Formless he doesn't step on." With that she turned around and got into the middle of the battle with a very befuddled scientist looking between her and his apparently alive residence.

* * *

Is it done? Yes! It is! One more short chapter and ep. 52 should be over.

I want to place the chapter like they would in between commercial breaks, we'll see how well this pans out.

So Gidget got a little physical, but she gave Gibby full warning. It was his own stubborn self's fault. Really, I just love setting up drama between them. They have a very interesting relationship that I love to write about. As where Gidget and Otto are sweet as suger, Gidget and Gibson are salt and pepper.

Gidget couldn't be more sarcastic in her last few lines. Ok, short explanation as to why this supposedly happy go lucky character is so moody. Gidget is way to open with her clairvoyance so every strong emotion given off by another teammate she feels so, she has rapid and uncontrollable mood swings. That's not to say that she can't have her own feelings, it's just if she's feeling annoyed at someone and they get mad at her, her anger will rise at the same time theirs does. This is also why when she leaves the room she goes back to being crazy. But Antauri will help her control this so that she won't flip out any more. I'm done for today.


	17. Episode 52: Alive End

Ch. 17

"Go out there." Nova said sternly.

"Why do I have to do this again?" Gibson asked her. She cocked her eye brow at him and pointed out the door. Gidget and Otto were happily sitting on the edge of the robot, both conversing jovially. "This is so stupid." Gibson murmured under his breath.

"I don't care." Nova said with a head shake, "You need to get this done and over with, you own them. All _three_ of them."

"She's right," Sparx chimed in, "He did save us after all." Gibson somberly nodded. After the Super Robot had defeated a few of those gigantic pterodactyls, the rest had fled in fear. Even most of the Formless had retreated. The Super Robot had saved them all on his own. And Gibson had been preaching about how he wasn't alive two minutes before this.

Gibson sighed heavily, "I suppose you are right." He huffed as he exited the elevator and slowly made his way towards the sea green and violet pair. He cleared his throat loudly. Both turned towards him, he had expected anger daggers to be glared at him but was greeted by two silly, smiling faces. But he really couldn't be all that surprised, Gidget had been right after all, she won.

"Gidget, Otto I believe I owe you two an apology." Gibson said formally.

"Damn right you do." Gidget said with a slight head nod. "You were a total jerk to me, Otto and Super Robot."

"Especially Gidget." Otto chimed in.

"Yes," Gibson said slightly annoyed, "I was, and that is why I am apologizing to _all_ of you." He took another deep breath before continuing. "Otto I was rude to you for no reason and I am sorry for making false accusations when I had been criticizing Gidget for doing- for what I thought at the time- the same thing." Otto smiled broadly.

"I hope you learned your lesson." Otto said in a stuffy voice that was no doubt suppose to be an imitation of Gibson. He ignored it and turned towards the Super Robot, Sparx had already told him what to do.

"Super Robot, I'm sorry." Gibson said, "I should have realized that you are alive just as much as me."

"You should have." Gidget said as she stood up, "Do you know what your problem is Gibby?" She asked with her hands on her hips. She didn't wait for an answer. "You have no faith. You say you need evidence to prove something is real, but you don't realize that there are things you accept with out any good _logical _reason."

"Like what?" Gibson intrigued, Gidget smiled and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his mid-section and hugged tightly.

"Love," She answered finally. Gibson blushed considerably, but it looked more purple under his fur than red. "Friendship, loyalty. All of these things you accept as fact and to be honest we have no feasible proof that they are real." She pushed away and looked him in the eye. "Think about it, saving the city might be a 'job' for now, but when we defeat the Skeleton King, Do you think everyone will automatically leave forget about everything we have been through? Of course not! You have made bonds that will last a very long life time. Even if thousands of light years separate the team, you will still be love and cherished. No matter where we make our home." She looked up at the Super Robot and her smile widened. "He forgives you and so do I," Gidget finally concluded, "But don't do it again." She warned before running off happily.

"Hey Nova!" She called, "You want to go back to the city now?"

"You bet!" Nova cheered, "Let's go get Geni and head on out."

"Can I come with you lovely ladies?" Sparx asked coyly. Nova rolled her eyes at him and punched him playfully in the arm.

"You wish," Nova said as she turned away from him. "Come on Gidget, let's go."

"Aw come on!" Sparx whined as he chased them, "How come I can't come?"

"Because you're an idiot." Gidget answered for Nova. Both girls started laughing as Sparx looked glumly at the ground. "But lucky for you I think Nova likes idiots." Nova stopped laughing and gasped at Gidget.

"I what?!" She asked her incredibly.

"You heard me," Gidget said, "I think you love the idiot."

"I heard her!" Sparx agreed enthusiastically. Nova glared at them and smacked them both in the back of the heads hard enough to send them to the floor before stalking off. Gidget giggled uncontrollably as Sparx laid there in a daze.

Gibson stood there smiling to himself for a very long moment. Otto got up and stood beside him.

"She's a pretty amazing person, isn't she?" Otto asked the steel blue monkey.

"She's pretty insane." Gibson commented back, "But yes, she never ceases to amaze me." Otto smiled at him and nodded.

"I have a growing suspicion that our lives will be filled with exceedingly more entertaining now."

* * *

Done! Yay! Okay you know how the rest of the show right after the last commercial only last like, 3 minutes and serves as a recap? That's what this is. I didn't really feel like writing the rest of the battle, nothing happens. Okay so I want to know if you like the idea of having the chapters being set up as the bits of shows separated by commercial breaks. If you don't like it I won't do it, but I think it will better pace the story. So tell me what you think.

And we see more character development, yup. Main things to note: Gibson sucks up his pride, and Gidget is now accepting herself as part of the team. She has never really done this before now, so yeah, go her!

TCBH! Will update eventually.


	18. Episode 53: Role Reversal

This is late, blah-blah-blah, you'll live.

Big thanks to my new Beta-reader:xxAllTheWorlsAStagexx. She's helping me overcome my comma addiction.

* * *

Skeleton scowled as his Formless minions moved pile after pile of rock. His castle was in shambles, his plans for winning this war ruined by one simple girl. One simple girl who should not have even been anywhere near this part of the galaxy, he might add. He had lost half of his forces when her ship had come crashing out of no where, then she proved to be a valuable asset to the Hyper Force. She was much stronger that he had anticipated and craftier too, Mandarin was still missing after his little scrap with her. Skeleton King would have had no problems making a new clone, if his lab hadn't been blow up by those nuisances Gidget and Otto. They had brought practically the whole Citadel down on top of them, for primate's sake!

Skeleton King growled in irritation. His forces depleted, his base destroyed, and his best minion gone, and all of it was caused by one simple girl. Skeleton King gripped his scepter tightly and swung it at the nearest Formless unfortunate enough to pass by him at that moment. As the creation splattered on the ground, an ominously familiar voice spoke.

"What is the problem my liege?" Mandarin asked with a deep bow. Skeleton King half turned to him and smiled crookedly.

"Ah, there you are Mandarin. I was beginning to wonder what had become of you. Did the violet monkey prove to be a more difficult opponent to eliminate than you had anticipated?" Mandarin stared at his master tight lipped before answering.

"I underestimated her my lord. It will not happen again." Mandarin said with a deeper bow. Skeleton King only laughed in response.

"Perhaps you would have disposed of her if the rest of the Hyper Force hadn't interfered. Besides, this showed us just how high of a power level she possesses . And what she fears most." Skeleton King stated.

"I _would_ have defeated her, and that annoying green menace too!" Mandarin growled defiantly. Skeleton King smirked wickedly, he had not enjoyed getting destroyed by the two buffoons of the Hyper Force.

"Perhaps, and perhaps not, but that is not our concern anymore. We have a slight dilemma." He looked over his ruined palace once more and his glare hardened. "I have underestimated the power of the hyper force and their allies. It is apparent that direct attacks will not work until we have a stronger fight force again. We might need to revert back to our old form of fighting. In our current state of disadvantage, a direct attack will not work."

"What do you suggest we do my liege?" Mandarin asked as he walked up beside the Skeleton King.

"Several small attacks on the city, just so they don't get suspicious." Skeleton King said as he studied his fingernails. "By then I will have a surprise made just for the Hyper Force."

"What do you plan on using on them, if I may be so bold to ask sire." Mandarin said.

"In good time Mandarin, I will reveal my plan. In good time." Skeleton King glanced down to Mandarin and noticed something odd, he appeared less solid, less formed almost. A thin smile appeared on his face again.

"I see your clone form did not hold up so well against the falling palace." Skeleton King commented. Mandarin's spine straightened as he spoke.

"I'm having a harder and harder time keeping it together, you could say." Mandarin said coolly.

"Shame." Skeleton King said with the smile still resting unnaturally on his face. "I was hoping it might prove to be a better weapon against the Hyper Force. Well I suppose when we get your lab rebuilt you can make yourself a new one."

"I would be eternally grateful Master." Mandarin said with a slight bow. Skeleton King smirked. He remembered now why he preferred clones to real minions. That undying loyalty and agreement that he needed in his pawns. Still there was something to say about that spark that could only be achieved by a living being. There was just something about that curiosity, that determination that clones just couldn't posses. Something that the Skeleton King doubted even he still possessed- a soul.

The real Mandarin might have been loyal to Skeleton King's face, but he was not a fool. He was not content with staying under the rule of the Master of the Dead for all eternity. That is why Skeleton King had replaced him in the first place. Still there was a reason why he had never gotten rid of the real Mandarin completely. Maybe there was something he could do…

Skeleton King noticed the clone Mandarin was looking at him. His not-so-pleasant smile quickly dissolved and he scowled at him.

"What are you still doing here? Get back to work, there is still much to do and we don't have time to sit here and _chit-chat_." Mandarin nodded and leaped away to command the Formless what to do next. Skeleton King glared around at his ruined palace once again.

"I will have to do something about that purple monkey and the rest of the Hyper Force. Something they won't be suspecting, something devious, something like-" The Skeleton King stopped mid-sentence when a terribly evil thought occurred to him. "That could work," He said slyly, "That could work quite nicely." He began to cackle evilly as he set up the next stage of development in his evil plan.

* * *

Commercial Break time!

Hey kids! Wanna know a milestone? _Book 1:Gidget _has now reached a total of 1,000 hits! I don't know if this is a lot of a five-month old story, but I feel like it should be mentioned at least.

Do you like to answer random polls for your fan fictions? Well do I have one for you! Head on over to Writing a Story's author page and tell her what are your favorite relationships involving Gidget are! So far OttoxGidget and GibsonxGidget are winning, so go put your two cents in and tell me what you think in that fancy poll o'mine!

And a new chapter coming out soon, I promise!


	19. Episode 53: Role Reversal Part 2

Hey this is a lot later than I wanted it to be. Oh well I got it here anyways. Enjoy!

* * *

Cool water lapped against the side of the gently swaying boat. It rocked softly with every crystal blue wave that passed under the oak hull. Gidget hummed quietly to herself as she let her feet hang over the side of the boat and dip into the soothing water. A simple straw hat was pulled over her face to keep the warm sun out of her eyes and she playfully flicked the surface of the water with her tail. The ripples chased after one another like racing friends. Her hands rested peacefully on her black chest as it gently rose and fell in tune with her breathing.

A bird tweeted from the trees and the crickets answered in reply. A large green dragonfly buzzed pass Gidget's ear and she shooed it away care-freely. She enjoyed the quiet and solitude she held in this peaceful place and she let the sunlight and water take her away. She placed her hands behind her head and hummed slightly louder.

"Don't hum Gidget." Antauri's voice reminded her. "You need complete silence to meditate. Gidget huffed and hummed louder to block him out. "I mean it, you can't let your imagination wander. You need to stop thinking and just let your mind float. Preferably not on a row boat." He warned as the boat suddenly rocked violently. The beautiful lake and sunshine disappeared and was replaced by darkness all around, Gidget growled and opened her eyes.

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in Antauri's room. The silver monkey was floating on thin air and kept his eyes closed as Gidget addressed him.

"How the heck am I suppose to stay calm without imagining something to occupy my time with?" Gidget snapped at him. She waited impatiently for her answer. He sensed her annoyance and sighed before explaining.

"The point of meditation is not to imagine anything at all." Antauri explained calmly. "Even if it is a calming scene. You need complete silence and concentration to reach the deep levels of meditation. There you stop imagining and start _experiencing_ things where your body is not present." Gidget growled again with irritation and stood up.

"How the heck is this suppose to help my anger issues again?" She asked crossly. Antauri sighed and descended to the floor. He met her steady glare and returned it with a calm, patient look.

"Nova," Antauri stated with a tone that someone might use with a kindergartener, "has anger issues; Gibson, has anger issues; you have emotional imprinting control issues. You can handle your own frustration quite well. It's everyone else's anger issues you have difficulty with. That is why we do these exercises, you need to learn to block everything out. You need to learn how to stop thinking."

"That," Gidget said using the same tone. "seems like a very poor thing to do in the middle of battle. That seems like something that could get myself and my team killed in a fight."

"This is not battle preparation," Antauri countered, "This is to help you deal with the emotions that your own team expresses every minute of every day. This is to help you deal with them, not the enemies." Antauri stood up himself and Gidget sighed in defeat.

"You're right. Sorry, I'm just getting frustrated with this whole thing. You know how hard it is me to sit still this long, I'm hyperactive, I need to move!" She pleaded with a small leap from one foot to the other. Antauri smiled at her and she smiled back. "I don't mean to get mad at you, it's just I wish we could make this whole process go quicker."

"I understand, but things like this take time. That's all for today, I doubt I could get you to focus on unfocusing even if you wanted to." Gidget did a overdramatic curtsy before turning to leave the room. "We will get this down one day." Antauri yelled to her as she left.

"Yeah," She said with an eye roll and smirk, "Over my circuit fried body." She shook her head as she walked into the medical lab and sought out the other members of the team. Her gaze settled upon the steel blue monkey, Gibson. He was looking from a microscope to a pad of paper, back to the microscope, and the back to the paper again. She grinned to herself as she skipped up to him and shouted, "Hello Gibby! What are you doing?"

Gibson cringed at the screech of her unnecessarily loud voice and sighed after his caught his breath. "I'm experimenting with different chemicals formulas and solutions that I might be able to use in my drills. In other words, I'm making new weapons."

"Can I help?" Gidget asked excitably. She looked at Gibson with large sparkling eyes and awaited his reply. He thought back to the last time she had helped him with an experiment. It had only happened last week, but that entire side of the lab was still blocked off from anyone entering until he finished cleaning up the gigantic chemical spill Gidget had made.

"No." He answered finally before turning back to his work. Gidget crossed her arms and knitted her brow together.

"Why not?" She asked. He looked down at his microscope and scribbled different formulas on a scrap of notebook paper.

"Because you're accident prone." Gibson explained, "Now leave before you break something again." Gidget stuck her tongue out at him before swiftly turning around and stalking out of the lab. As she left the room, her madly swishing tail smacked into a large beaker of purple liquid. It tottered on the edge of the lab table before it crashed to the floor and immediately evaporated into a smothering smoke. "Gidget!" Gibson choked out as she darted from the room as quickly as possible. "Gidget come back here right now!"

Gidget darted into the kitchen and found Otto and Jinmay making lunch. "Hey guys, wha' cha doing?" She asked as she peered over the counter top.

"Making Panini's." Jinmay answered as she set a couple on the grill. "What are you up to?"

"Hanging out and hiding out from Gibby. How long to you think it will be till he bans me from his lab?" Gidget asked as she smelled the sandwiches.

"You're not banned already?" Jinmay asked surprised.

"If I'm not already I'm about to be." Gidget said as she watched Otto assemble more sandwiches. "Can I help?"

"Sure!" Otto said happily. "If Jinmay doesn't care I don't." He turned to her and she smiled happily. Gidget jumped up and down excitably.

"Cool, I need some kind of job on this team." Gidget said as she washed her hands. Otto and Jinmay exchanged a confused looked.

"Why do you need a job?" Jinmay asked as Gidget dried off her hands.

"Because everyone here has their own special way that they contribute to the team. Like Sparx and his piloting, or Gibson and his medical and scientific knowledge, or Chiro and his leadership skills. I don't have any thing I can particularly contribute."

"But you're an awesome mechanic!" Otto argued, "Doesn't that count for something?" Gidget shook her head.

"That's your job Otto, no matter how good I am it doesn't surpass your abilities. So I need my own private job, something I can do to help out." Gidget said as she attempted to assemble a sandwich.

"Were you aiming for chef?" Jinmay asked as she looked over Gidget's shoulder at her not so amazing sandwich. Gidget just shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet. I've never really cooked so who knows?" Gidget said as her sandwich toppled over into the floor. "Oops. That shouldn't happen, should it?" Jinmay and Otto exchanged a worried guess.

"Maybe we can teach you how to properly make a sandwich." Jinmay suggested happily. Otto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah all you need is a little practice…" Otto said.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and a very loud smoke detector told a different story. The trio rushed out of the kitchen as they attempted to clear their lungs of the smoke.

"How was I suppose to know you can't leave those oven mitts in the oven! It's in the name!" Gidget protested in between coughs.

"I just thought everyone knew that," Jinmay said before coughing, "I still should have warned you. Maybe cooking isn't your deal." Gidget sighed.

"This is the second smoke filled room I've made today." She said dejectedly. Otto and Jinmay gasped at each other.

"Second?" They echoed in unison, Gidget nodded sadly.

"Second." She repeated with a shrug. Jinmay bit her lip and gently wrapped her arm around Gidget's shoulders.

"Like I said, cooking just isn't your thing. We'll find some way for you to be useful some other time." Jinmay patted her shoulders reassuringly. "Hey I know, why don't you go talk to Nova. She can cheer you up I bet!" Gidget looked deflated.

"Yeah maybe, I'll see you guys later then." She walked towards Nova's room with her head down and sighed heavily. She used her head to knock on the door and Nova called for her to come in. She walked in distraught and sunshine monkey became worried immediately.

"What's wrong Gidg?" Nova asked as she hurried over to her sister. Gidget looked at her and started wailing.

"I'm useless!" Gidget sobbed as she sat down on Nova's floor.

"What?" Nova gasped as she knelt down to Gidget, "Who told you that? I swear if it was Sparx-" Nova began to get furious as Gidget sadly shook her head.

"It wasn't Sparx, and no body told me that. I could tell for myself. I can't even make a sandwich!" Gidget started wailing again and Nova got nervous.

"You're not useless, Gidget." Nova said sweetly. "You're a great and important asset to this team. You do so much for us."

"Like what?" Gidget huffed while crossing her arms in front of her black chest. Nova stopped, she didn't have a good answer for her and couldn't come up with one. Gidget sighed heavily, "That's what I though. See Novie, I can't do anything useful."

"That's not true!" Nova insisted as Geni skipped in happily. Nova got an idea. "You're one of the best sisters I've ever seen, don't you agree Geni?" Geni stopped in her tracks and looked confused before nodding slowly. "See?" Nova insisted, "And you can usually see the bright side of things, that's something we always need here when things get tough. You have an undying hope and loyalty I wish I had. And a great sense of humor, you can always make me laugh." Nova thought that might cheer Gidget up and she waited apprehensively for her response. Gidget sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess, but none of that stuff will help us defeat the Skeleton King." Gidget said finally. Nova stopped again. She was right, there was no denying it. Geni looked at her sadly before running to her sister's side and pleaded with her eyes. Gidget sighed and shook her head. "Geni that still doesn't help us win any wars." Geni puffed her mouth out and stared at her strongly. Gidget watched her intently before smiling broadly and laughing loudly. "Yeah, I guess you are right," they quickly hugged, "I _should_ listen to you more. I'm sorry for being a Sappy Sally." Geni patted her back reassuringly, then stood up and skipped over to play with Nova's stuffed animals.

Nova turned from her to Gidget and back again. "… What just happened?" Nova questioned confused. Gidget just shook her head and laughed.

"I couldn't explain it if I tried. Geni has this weird ability to get through this thick skull of mine when I'm down. She's just one of those people who knows how to get under my skin." Gidget smiled slyly, "Ya know, like Sparx does to you." Nova blushed and tried hastily to change the subject.

"You really like those dolls don't you?" She said as she stepped towards the brown monkey. She looked up at Nova and nodded excitably. "She does huh?" Nova asked Gidget who smiled at her flailing.

"She does, she use to have some before-" Gidget's eyes went wide and her head started to swim. She stumbled backwards and leaned against the wall before closing her eyes.

* * *

_They were running, the sound of their clanging metal feet was too loud in the tiny corridor. Alarms were blaring, red lights were flashing off the soot black walls. She could hear their voices yelling down the hall. She tightened her grip on Geni's hand and ran faster. Geni felt her franticness and tighten her death grip on her brown teddy bear's neck._

_Unexpectedly, Geni stumbled. Geni fell to the ground and dropped her bear. She turned around and grabbed Geni by the upper arm and pulled her to her feet and fled down the hall. Geni turned around, reaching back for her lost toy. A sad squeak exited her open mouth._

"_No time to get it." She answered her unsaid complaint. "If we stop they'll get us. We have to hurry, come on."_

_Red flashing lights bounced of Gidget's frantic lilac eyes as she desperately searched for a way to escape. They were right behind them now. She ran through a door way and-_

Gidget opened her eyes to see she was laying on Nova's floor with Geni and Nova standing over her, concerned.

"Gidget are you ok?" Nova asked as Gidget nodded and sat up. The girls moved out of her way as she leaned up and touched a hand to her head.

"I'm fine, I just-" She stopped unsure how to proceed. " I think I just had one of my memories come back." She shook her head quickly to clear it. Nova reached out to her.

"You what?" Nova asked she helped Gidget up and lead her to her day bed. "Well what do you remember?"

"Running," Gidget answered as she sat down. She looked at Geni. "I'm so sorry that I made you leave your teddy bear." Geni looked at her slightly shocked but her face softened quickly and she smile sweetly as she laid her hand on Gidget's knee in comfort. Gidget smiled back at her and pulled her in for a hug. "And now I know what I must do to make it up to you." Geni's eyes popped open and she leaned back and looked at Gidget befuddled.

Gidget jumped up and headed for the door. "Nova stay here with Geni, I'll be back in a little bit." Nova and Geni looked at each other.

"Where are you going?" Nova called to Gidget for both her and Geni's sake.

"Don't worry about!" Gidget called with out turning around. "I'll tell you when I get back!" Nova and Geni stood there, mouths agape as Gidget swiftly left the Robot. As Gidget ran towards the city, Skeleton King's surprise arrived at the robot.

It appeared to be some large black globe flying on two large bat wings, but when it landed on the Robot's shoulder, it retracted it's wings and traded them of eight thin spider legs. It swiftly crawled through the slates of the Super Robot's shoulders and ripped a small section of paneling off just big enough for it to squeeze through. It crawled through the ventilation system quickly. Checking vents as it scurried by them. One looked down upon Gibson grudgingly cleaning up Gidget's mess. It marked this one in it's internal map and continued on. Another was floor level with Antauri's meditation room and it's occupant quietly sitting on the floor. It marked it and quickly moved on.

It found the kitchen with Otto and Jinmay trying to salvage lunch, the command center with Chiro and Sparx deep in a video game, and Nova's room where Geni sat happily on the floor playing dolls while Nova practiced her fighting skills on the punching bag in the corner. Here is where it would start. It suddenly began to ripple and bubble like a pot of water. Then millions of microscopic insects disintegrated from it as it spread through out the robot attacking all's it's unsuspecting inhabitants.

* * *

Gidget skipped happily back to the robot, her bag of supplies swinging violently in her hand. Geni would be so surprised when Gidget was done. While she was at it, she might make Nova and Jinmay something too-

_Gidget!_ The Super Robot managed to somehow sound frantic. _Something is wrong with the team, you have to be careful when entering me! _Gidget stopped and looked around.

_Can you give me a little bit more information than that?_ Gidget asked confused. What could have happened in the twenty minutes she was gone?

_I don't know, I think there is some kind of virus in the Robot it's-_ Then the Robot went silent. Gidget got frantic and nervous.

_Super Robot?_ She asked concerned, _Is everything all right? What happened? _She received no reply and she could feel her franticness rising. She rushed to the robot and almost barged in, but stopped herself in time.

"The Super Robot said it could be a virus." Gidget said out loud, "This could be bad." She put one hand on her chin, "But what can I do so I won't be infected with it too?" She though a minute, rummaging through all the teams memories she had collect the last few weeks to find something useful when it dawned on her, "The diving masks! I can use the one Otto made for me the other day!" She reached into the shopping bag she had with her and took out a thick piece of cappuccino brown fabric. She wrapped it around her head like an old west bandit and stuck her arms trough the Shopping bag like a backpack. She transformed her guns and prepared for anything, "Let's do this partner." She said in a muffled voice as she opened the door and rushed in.

She silently swung her guns all round her, prepared to take down anything that jumped at her. She tired not to breath to much as she rushed to the storage closet that held the team's extreme conditions equipment. She grabbed the breathing apparatuses that had purple stripes on it and quickly stuck it in her mouth and breathed deeply and easily.

"Great," She said to no one, "one problem solved, now to find out what the other 500 are and try to fix them." She kept her guns cocked as she crept around the robot looking for any signs of life. The lights flickered ominously as she made her way towards the command center. When she got there she looked around the empty room and sighed, Where was every one? She snuck in and looked around more closely, but there were no signs of a fight and even now as she thought about it the Robot hadn't mentioned any thing about an intruder, so what was going on? Gidget untransformed her hands and used one to scratch the back of her head. As she stood there pondering, a dark shadow silently detached itself from the ceiling and slowly crept along the pipes till it was right above Gidget. The lights finally blinked out and Gidget gasped.

She felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck rise and turned around just as the shape tackled her to the ground and pinned her under it's weight. "Got you now…." It said ominously as a smile spread across its lips. "You know what that means right?" It began to laugh wickedly. Gidget gulped loudly and closed her eyes.

"It means," the voice continued as it grew quieter and quieter, "that… you… are…" it paused a second to lean beside Gidget's ear receptor. "IT!" It yelled before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Gidget's ocular orbs popped open and she flicked on her helmet light. The yellow light washed the giggling blue monkey who sat astride Gidget's chest.

"Gibson?" Gidget yelled in shock as the blue monkey giggled harder. "What's wrong you?" Gidget asked in shock as he jumped off her and ran towards the other side of the room.

"Na nana nah na!" Gibson taunted, "You've got catch me first!" He yelled as he ran out of the room and left Gidget standing there in shock. She blinked before chasing after the scientist.

"Gibson!" Gidget called, "Wait for me-" She tripped over something hidden in the shadows and quickly flipped her light around to see what had made her stumble. The light shinned upon a humanoid form clad in white curled up in a ball on the floor. "Chiro?" Gidget gasped in shock. The leader looked up at her with his sad piercing blue eyes and sighed.

"What do you want?" He asked sadly. Gidget shook her head.

"What the heck is going on around here?" Gidget yelled as she stood up. "Why are you in the floor? And what the **heck** happened to Gibson? Where is everyone else?" Chiro sat up and sighed at her bombardment of questions.

"I du' know." Chiro said solemnly, "One minute I'm acting _normal _and all _happy_," He said each adjective like it stung his tongue to speak it. "And the next moment I'm like this. I don't know what happened, and I don't know where everyone else is. Now will you _please_ leave me alone?" He asked as he curled back up into a ball. "I just want to sit here and sulk, there's nothing else to do anyways." Gidget slowly stood up and walked out of the room while throwing a backwards glance to Chiro as she walked out.

"What the heck is going on around here?" She asked out loud in confusion as she walked through the hallway. She was looking back and forth, her flashlight cast eerie shadows across the walls. Suddenly a flick of red darted away from her light beam and she jumped on it.

"Ow!" Sparx yelled as Gidget pinned him to the ground. "Wh-what a-re you d-d-doing G-g-gidget?" Sparx yelled as his face blushed.

"Sparx what is going on around here? Gibson tackled me, Chiro is curled up in a tiny ball right now, and I don't know where the rest of the team is. I was gone for thirty minutes! What could possibly happen in that short of a time frame!"

"I-I don't kn-know." Sparx stammered, "B-but c-c-could you please g-get off-f-f of me?" Sparx blushed more. Gidget tilted her head to the side as she got off of him. He blushed even more when Gidget held her hand out to help him up.

"Sparx, will you help me find the rest of the team?" Gidget asked as she held his hand tightly. "And we need to get the lights back on." He nodded slowly and they crept down the hall. They slid along the wall slowly as they made their way towards the utilities room.

_Why is everyone acting so weird? _Gidget asked herself. First, Gibson attacked her, then Chiro went all mopey, and now Sparx was acting all shy and quiet. As they walked into the room, a familiar monkey was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back to them. It appeared that he was busy trying to fix the computer when Gidget gasped happily.

"Otto!" Gidget squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh I was so worried that something was really wrong but here you are fixing the Robot just like you should be!" He quickly stood up and turned to face her.

"Gidget?" He asked amazed, "What are you doing? And why are you hugging me?" Gidget giggled as squished him harder.

"Because I'm happy to see you silly!" Gidget said as he pushed her away and examined her with a glare. Gidget realized there was something very wrong about him. He looked at her with confusion, disapproval, wary, none of his usual vigor, happiness, wonder. He was looking at her like Gibson would have. "Otto?" Gidget asked as she stepped back from him, "What's wrong?" He sighed and placed one hand on his chin.

"It appears you were left unaffected by what ever has attacked the team." He explained. "Probably because you put that breathing apparatus on. Quick thinking, by the way." Gidget's hand lifted to the mask she had forgotten she still had on.

"What has affected the team?" Gidget asked finally. Otto shook his head and sighed.

"I'm not sure, but what ever it is, is making the rest of the team behave _differently_ than they normally. As in how-"

"Gibson is suddenly silly, Chiro is depressed and hopeless, Sparx is shy, and you're calm and collected." Gidget interrupted and finished for him. He nodded to her and continued.

"I'm not sure how this came about, but even seems to be affecting the Robot. I'm currently trying to at least get the power working again so we can figure out what to do from there." Gidget nodded, this explained why the Robot had cut off in the middle of his warning. Gidget sighed and scratched her head, then it dawned on her.

"Where is everyone else?" Gidget asked suddenly scared for her sisters. Otto shook his head again and sighed.

"I happened to be with Jinmay when this happened, she got very wicked and then swaggered out of the room. I'm not sure about Geni, Nova or Antauri." He shivered. "With how everyone is acting I don't want to see anyone else." Gidget sighed and rubbed her head vigorously.

"Okay," She said finally, "You get this working and then call everyone into the command center when you're done. Sparx, come with me to find everyone else."

"W-why do I have to come?" Sparx asked before quieting down, "Couldn't I just stay here with Otto?" Gidget sighed annoyed.

"I need your help, we still have to track down the team and you know the robot better than me, so come on." Gidget dragged him out of the room and down the hall. "Now if you were Nova, Geni, Jinmay, Gibson, or Antauri where would you be right now?"

"Oh I don't know." Sparx said sheepishly.

"Okay then, where would the girls be if the lights suddenly went out? Sparx?" Gidget narrowed down the possibilities.

"Well if I was Nova, I would try to figure out what was going on, so maybe the control center?" Sparx asked, but Gidget shook her head.

"No, I've already been in there. And the power is off so she probably couldn't even leave the room she was-"The answer suddenly dawned on them and they answered in unison.

"Her room!" They yelled together as they headed for her door. As they approached it they could hear muffled yelling from the other side. They ran to it and started banging on it.

"Nova?" Gidget called through the closed door, "Can you hear me? Is Geni still with you?" There was some kind of undistinguishable answer and Gidget growled with frustration, "Just sit tight, okay? Otto should have the power back on soon and we can get you out of-" suddenly there was a loud thud as the electricity kicked back on. "Well speak of the devil." Gidget said as the door slid open and a yellow blur ran past her and straight into Sparx's arms.

"Oh Sparky I was so, like, scared!" Nova whined as a very embarrassed Sparx held her awkwardly. "I'm soooo glad you're here now though." Sparx was tongue tied as she batted her eyelashes at him, "You have such _strong_ arms Sparky, have you always been like this?"

"Uh, well n-no?" Sparx said unsure as he looked to Gidget for guidance. She shrugged confused as he was. Then Gidget gasped.

"Nova, where is Geni?" Gidget asked concerned. Nova looked like she had just noticed she was there.

"Oh, she still in there, I guess." Nova answered uncaringly. Gidget flipped around as a brown blur ran past her, a marker trailing behind and scribbling on the wall as mischievous giggles floated back to the befuddled Gidget. "See, there she went." Gidget turned swiftly back around to face Nova.

"What's wrong with my sister?" Gidget asked her. Nova shrugged and clung tighter to Sparx who blushed brighter in turn.

"She's been like that for the past thirty minutes. Misbehaving, giggling uncontrollably, and just acting really childish." Nova explained. Gidget sighed and began banging her against the wall.

"I need to find Antauri," Gidget said as she sighed deeply, "I can't _wait_ to see what he's acting like. Sparx, find Geni and take her and Nova to the command center. If you see Gibson or Jinmay on your way there grab them and drag them in there. I'll got see if I can find Antauri and then deal with this situation then." Gidget ran down the hall as Sparx yelled after her.

"Wait, w-why do I have to stay here?" He yelled as Nova started stroking his chest seductively.

* * *

Well that's all for now folks. See you in two weeks (hopefully) for the next part in this exciting adventure!

Oh yeah, and sorry if I haven't really been here that much guys, I don't mean to leave you hanging but other stuff keeps popping up. If we're lucky I might be able to get the next chapter of TCBH! out this week but no promises. Once again, sorry guys.


	20. Episode 53: Role Reversal Part 3

Oh hey look who isn't dead. What about that? Ah well I'm here now and that's what matters.

Okay so as much as I loved your guys suggestions for Antauri, I had something else planned out, sorry.

Without any other delays, here's Part 3.

* * *

"Okay if I were Antauri, Where would I be during all this?" Gidget asked to herself. She though in silence a few seconds when the answer suddenly came to her. "The meditation room!" She yelled as she ran down the hall at top speed. "I really hope I'm not wrong about this, I need something to go my way today." She ran to the door and took a deep breath before opening it. Antauri was sitting quietly on the floor. Gidget let out her held breath and had to stop herself from tackling him as she sat down happily.

"Man am I glad to see you acting normal." Gidget said happily as Antauri sat there unresponsive. Gidget's wide smile faltered for a moment but she kept it up. "Can you tell me what the heck is going on Tauri? This is just getting to big for me to handle on my own, I need my mentor to tell me what to do next." Antauri remained silent and Gidget was getting anxious. She didn't know what to do, then it dawned on her. She closed her eyes and focused on nothing.

There was darkness all around her, she just breathed in and out, in and out, in and out. Then Antauri was there, sitting across from her and she had to stop herself and remained calm so she wouldn't interrupt the meditation session.

"It's good to see that you're beginning learn to control your emotions, Gidget." He said calmly.

"This is not the time Antauri!" Gidget snapped at him, the vision started to waver and she forced herself to remain calm. Antauri sat there with his eyes closed and nodded.

"I've noticed that. It seems that everyone in the robot is acting strangely." He remarked. Gidget rolled her eyes, and scoffed.

"You could say that, why aren't you affected by this?" Gidget asked Antauri. He sighed heavily and finally looked her in the eye.

"I am, I'm just controlling myself by staying in an extreme state of meditation so you have one less person to deal with." Antauri explained. "I can feel what ever it is that is affecting the rest of the team trying to affect me. Gidget I believe that you are on your own this time." Gidget's sprites dropped.

"…Antauri no…" She whispered, "I can't do this by my- you can't really- you have to be able to-" She was at a lose for words. She stopped for a second and collected her thoughts. "Antauri what _can_ I do to? Gibson is acting insane, Chiro is basically useless, Otto is unbearable, Geni is uncontrollable, and Sparx is unreliable. I do not want to even meet Jinmay in this situation and I can't deal with Nova the way she is acting. Antauri, how in Shugazoom am I suppose to fix this?" Gidget pleaded to the silver simian. He looked at her for a long moment.

"Gidget," He said finally, "I believe you might have over-dramatized the situation. You are underestimating the help you could get from your teammates. Use this odd situation to your advantage, you never know the skills that could be hidden in everyone of them."

"Why do you always have to be so cryptic?" Gidget sighed, "What do you mean by-"

"Attention Hyper Force, attention Hyper Force." Otto's no nonsense voice broke through the mind bubble, "Please report to the command center immediately, thank you."

"I believe that is your signal to go learn more about your team." Antauri said as the vision started to quiver.

"Wait!" Gidget yelled, "I'm still not sure how to-" She was sitting back in the meditation room with an unresponsive Antauri across from her. She sighed as she pushed herself off the floor and walked out the room down hearted.

She walked into the Command Center and was immediately greeted by a marker to the chest. Geni ran past her with a red marker in hand as she doodled all over the walls. Gidget looked down at her black chest which now had a red scribble mark on it and sighed. She returned her attention to the rest of the chaos. Sparx was trying unsuccessfully to get Nova off of him as she continued to flirt. Chiro was curled up in a ball on the floor as Otto tried to reason with him.

"Chiro please," Otto pleaded, "we need you to take some initiative and lead your team. We are in utter chaos right now!" He looked at the teen on the floor with his hands on his hips and waited for a response impatiently.

"Why should I bother?" Chiro complained "They won't listen to me anyways."

"You don't know that!" Otto countered, "You sure haven't tried to control them…" Otto shook his head and looked up and saw Gidget standing in the door way. "Gidget! Come here and try to mediate the situation! And did you find Antauri?"

Gidget nodded as she walked over to join Otto. "Yeah but he has put himself into this meditative coma until we figure out a way to fix this." She glanced around the room, "Where is Gibson?" She asked suddenly. Otto rolled his eyes and pointed up as the blue scientist stuck his head out of the air vents in the ceiling.

"Hey Gidget!" He yelled happily, "You're still it you know." Gibson smile as he waved to her.

"Gibson could you come down here for a minute?" Gidget called up to him. He quickly shook his head in response.

"Nope you have to catch me first!" He giggled as he disappeared back into the vent. Gidget growled in frustration as she jumped on top of one of the bubble chairs and started to climb into the vent.

"What on Shugazoom are you doing?" Otto asked, "We have other things to worry about than playing a silly game!"

"I know that," Gidget answered exasperated. "But we need Gibson here so we can get him to give us all scans in the medical bay. I think is might be some kind of virus or something."

"Well what am I suppose to do why you go off and play in the air vents?" Otto asked her as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Help Sparx keep Nova and Geni under control." Gidget answered as she pulled herself up into the vent.

"Please!" Sparx yelled as he grabbed Otto by the shoulders, "I can't keep her off of me!" Nova was wrapped around his waist and smiling up at him sweetly.

"Aw come on Sparky, you never ran away from me before." Nova said playfully as she pulled him from Otto. "I want to show you some of my new combat moves."

"N-no!" Sparx snapped quickly before he regained his composer, "I-I'm good for now." He pried her arms from his waist as he smiled at her nervously. He looked to Otto for help but saw that he was currently trying to get Genesis to pay attention to him.

"…Honestly Genesis, can't you act mature for one moment while I deal with something else? I can't keep my eye on you while I'm trying to fix this situation we're in. Can't you behave for one minute while I work?" Otto ranted to the small monkey. She turned to him and rolled her eyes in annoyance as she continued to draw on the walls.

Nova grabbed Sparx around the waist again and easily lifted him off the ground. "Come it will be tons of fun Sparky." She snuggled her head against his back as he straightened up nervously.

"Gidget please hurry and figure out what is wrong with us!" Sparx yelled in fright as Gidget lifted the rest of her body into the vent and started to crawl down it. As she passed the dust bunnies and dirt globs she was suddenly glad she still had the breathing apparatus in. She activated her head light and began the strenuous crawl down the metal tunnel. The only sounds she heard where her hands smacking against the floor of the vent, and her constant breathing in her own ears. She saw neither hair nor tail of Gibson anywhere.

_Aw come on! _She thought tiredly to herself, _How hard could it be to lose Gibson in the air vents! I should have found him ten minutes ago. I have to crawl through here twice as much as he does. So where could he be-_ She saw a flash of metal tail out of the corner of her eye and turned slowly to the left and down a short tunnel that branched into a large T. To the right Gibson's tail lazily swayed back and forth as Gidget crept up on him. She waited till she was only a few feet away before she coiled herself like a spring and pounced on him.

"Got you!" Gidget yelled as she gripped the end of his tail tightly, "There is no way in heck you are getting away this time-" She stopped talking as she noticed Gibson wasn't paying a bit of attention to her and instead was focused on something cradled under his chest. "What is that?" She as she slipped beside him in the vent.

"I dunno." Gibson said with a shrugged as he looked at it some more. "I found it while I was hiding down here and it was so weird looking that I forgot to hide again." He moved his hand to reveal a melted looking sphere that was split open like a burst peach. It was empty and smooth on the inside but covered in craters and mounds on outside. Gidget gingerly touched it but pulled her hand back quickly. "Do you know what it is?" Gibson asked her. Gidget quickly shook her head before answering.

"I don't know but I can tell you it is some seriously bad mojo." She shivered a bit, "There is a whole lot of bad aura coming off of this thing and I want to know what the heck it is." She took the sphere from him and used the other branch of the T to turn around before she started off towards the rest of the team. "Come on, we need to get back to everyone and see if we can figure out what's happening in this place."

Gidget wiggled out of the vent and jumped down to the floor to see the room in a fury of arguing and frantic screaming. Otto was snapping at Geni who was drawing on any surface in the control room. Sparx was using his magnets to hang from the ceiling and out of Nova's clingy, jumping reach. Chiro was still curled on the floor whining about everything possible as Gibson jumped from the vent and rushed to help Geni color on the walls, and to top it all off Jinmay was still nowhere in sight. Gidget tightened her grip on the weird orb as she growled angrily.

"Will everyone shut up for two seconds!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Everyone froze in place as she breathed heavily. "Geni! Gibson! Stop coloring everything and start cleaning up this mess immediately! Otto don't you dare start on them again, I can't handle any more of your high and mighty rants. Nova if you touch Sparx one more time I deactivate your fists. Sparx get off the ceiling now, and Chiro pull yourself off the floor right now! You're a leader start acting like one, and has anyone seen Jinmay anywhere?"

"I'm right here, calm down." Jinmay said as she strolled into the command center with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She looked at everyone coolly and rolled her eyes. "Have you figured out why everyone is acting stupid yet?"

"No." Gidget snapped, "And where the heck have you been during all of this?" Jinmay rolled her eyes again.

"Since when did I have to start answering to you? I can do what ever I want." Jinmay snapped as she flopped down in one of the bubble chairs. "And anyways if you're going to go and try to take over the team you might as well figure out what is wrong with us first before you go psycho." Gidget bit her lip to stop herself from speaking. As much as she hated Jinmay's attitude, she was right.

"Okay then, first things first: Otto and Sparx, go get Antauri for me and bring him in here." Nova started to protest, when Gidget cut her off, "No you can't go, you have to stay here and help me keep Gibson under control. Gibson you are going to run scans on all of us and try to figure out what the heck is going on. Geni you are going to finish cleaning up this mess you made." Geni stuck her tongue out but got to work as Gibson ran for Med lab.

"Aye, aye Captain!" He said happily as he got the scanner ready. Sparx took this opportunity to dart out of the room as quick as he could while Otto simply walked out and Gidget turned towards Chiro.

"And you are going to get an attitude adjustment. I don't care what you think you can't do, you can do anything you set your mind to so don't give me that "I can't do it" crap. I know you can, I have seen you come out on top in impossible situations when the chips were down, so stop sulking for five minutes and lead your team, ya got me?" Gidget put her hands on her hips and looked the taller boy in the eyes. He tried to look away but kept glancing to Gidget before finally nodding. Gidget gave him a short nod before going up to Jinmay. "You," She said as she pointed her finger at her, "I don't know what you are doing but keep it up. We need more backbone around here." Jinmay gave her a short nod while keeping eye contact. Gidget turned to face everyone. "Okay now everyone who's left head to the med lab so we can get scanned and try to figure out what in the name of the Power Primate is going on here. Monkeys mobilize." It felt odd to say the order most often given by Chiro or Antauri but someone had to. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after she finally got the hang of this "in charge" thing.

* * *

"And…" Gibson said as he pushed a few buttons on his computer. Antauri was sitting motionless and cross-legged on a medical table as a blue light enveloped him. "Done! That's the last scan, now we just need to wait for the results." Otto and Sparx quickly moved the M.I.A. second in command from the table. All the team members but Gidget had now been scanned but the results were still being calculated.

"Hold on," Gidget said, "There one more thing I want you to scan for me." She put the weird orb Gibson had found in the vents on the table and motioned for him to scan it. He did it with a shrug and typed a few buttons, causing the blue light to appear again and scan the orb.

"Is there anything else you want us to scan" Jinmay asked with a smirk, "Like maybe a hover-burger or shoe?" Gibson looked up excitably while Gidget glared at her quickly, and Jinmay threw her hands up in defense. "Kidding, I was only kidding. Jeez, can't you take a joke?"

"Could we please scan a hover-burger?" Gibson asked happily, "Actually I just want a hover-burger, could we go get some?"

"No." Gidget said as she rubbed her temples, "We need to finish these scans and then try to figure out a way to get you guys back to normal." As if on cue the computer beeped and everyone turned to the screen as the results appeared.

"Well to good news is that everyone is infected with the same thing." Gibson said happily.

"How is that good news?" Chiro squeaked. "We're all infected with something!"

"It's good cause that means we just have to find one cure." Gidget answered as the computer continued to show information on the mysterious epidemic.

"Bad news is that we have nothing in our data bases about this sickness." Gibson said, everyone sighed heavily as Otto placed his hand on his chin.

"And what does the scan say about the odd orb you and Gidget found, Gibson?" He asked as he glanced over to the misshapen mass. Gibson typed a few words and the screen changed.

"It says that the material is come kind of organic substance." Gibson said as the computer beeped and he gasped.

"Gasp?" Chiro asked fretfully, "What does that mean?" He clutched his hands to his mouth as Gidget looked over Gibson's shoulder at the results.

"It means that what ever has infected you guys came from that ball of goo." She answered. She looked confused for a moment before a look of recognition swept over her face. "Ball of goo…Skeleton King!" She suddenly yelled as she ran over to the ball and quickly used a scalpel to scrap a little bit of the inside off and stuck it under a microscope. As she peered through the scope Otto walked up behind her.

"If Skeleton King is the one behind this, this whole situation finally makes some kind of sense. But the question still remains; What is infecting us?" Otto said to everyone.

"It means he has made something that not only effects organics," Gidget answered as she fiddled with the microscope's focusing, "but also machines. In other words, you guys have caught nano-bots." She stood back from the microscope to let everyone else see the little squirming bugs that were still trapped to the inside of the ball. "These guys took out the Super Robot's automatic systems, along with changing your personalities." Gidget answered with a triumphant smile, which was pretty hard thing to do with the breathing apparatus still in her mouth.

As Sparx got done looking through the scope, he turned to Gidget with a worried face. "But why do you sound so excited about that? It's not a good thing!" Gidget smiled wider.

"Cause nano-bots I can handle." She said as she pointed at herself, "All we have to do is build a some tiny robots to counter the disease and program them to attack the virus."

"Like white blood cells!" Gibson added happily.

"Exactly!" Gidget agreed as she turned to the team. "Now we're gonna have to do this quickly if you guys want to get back to normal."

"Gidget," Otto said quickly, "Robots are hard enough to make, nano-bots are ten times harder than that! And we'll need several thousands of them for everyone! How in the world are we going to do this quickly?"

"We won't need several thousands if I make a good program for them." Gidget said with a mischievous smile. "Those bugs won't know what hit them! Now you get started on those while I work on the program."

"And what are we suppose to do while you guys work on this?" Jinmay asked as she leaned against the wall.

"This is Skeleton King we're talking about," Gidget said with emphasis, "He wouldn't just make us sick and do nothing about it. He's probably planning an attack on the city right now and with Super Robot in his current condition we won't stand a chance in defending the city if he attacks us." Gidget paused for a moment to let the information sink in with everyone. "I need you guys to start preparing for a war." Gidget said softly, "Go and tell our allies what's going on so they have some clue and warn them. Me and Otto will work in here on the cure, okay?" Everyone glanced at each other unsurely.

"I can't lead an army like this!" Chiro whined suddenly. "Oh we'll never win battle and then the war will be lost!" Jinmay rolled her eyes and pushed him to the side.

"Look, I'll go with Geni, Nova, and Sparx and try to get everyone ready. Chiro, Gibson, and Antauri are hardly going to be any help out there so you keep them here to help out with anything you might need. Us four can handle the armies, you try to come up with weapons or something." Gidget nodded.

"Sounds good to me, we'll split it that way." She said as Nova squealed happily.

"Did you hear that Sparky?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We get to spend the whole day together!" Sparx turned a light purple from strangulation and looked helplessly to Gidget.

"Nova let go of Sparx before you kill him." Gidget said, "Jinmay you keep a tight leash on Geni, don't let her get away from you. Alright, if we're already there's only one thing left to say:" Everyone waited patiently for her to go on. "Monkeys, Mobilize!"

* * *

Skeleton King looked over his remaining forces. They were still weak looking, considering that the Formless factory was still off line, but there were more than enough to fight the Hyper Force in their current state.

"My liege," Mandarin said as he ran up and bowed to Skeleton King before continuing. "Your forces are ready to attack the city. Just give the signal and I'll bring the Hyper Force to their knees, and that purple monkey's head on a platter." He added spitefully. Skeleton King looked down and Mandarin and laughed evilly.

"Patience Mandarin," He said as he tapped on his staff head. "We will wait till tomorrow morning to strike. I'm sure by then all the Hyper Force will be infected and then you won't have to worry about the purple monkey any more, she'll come to us willing." Mandarin looked up at Skeleton King confused.

"What do you mean sire?" He asked dumbfounded. Skeleton King laughed evilly.

"Oh you'll see, there are some very interesting secrets about her that you might be interested to learn." Skeleton King said evilly. "The whole Hyper Force will see them tomorrow too." He began to laugh manically as Mandarin stared on confused.

* * *

Gidget rubbed her head tiredly as she typed on the computer. The sun had long set on the city, it had crept past the horizon as SKRF prepared for the battle. Now the troops were trying to get some uneasy rest as Gidget tried her best to pay attention to her work. She laid her head in her hands for a moment and let it hang there a moment as Otto sat beside her and handed a mug to her.

"You look positively exhausted." He commented as he sipped the coffee in his hand. "Why don't you get some rest? The rest of the team has called it a night, you should too."

"Cause," Gidget said tiredly, "I need to finish this program first. If I don't finish it tonight we won't stand a chance against Skeleton King tomorrow.

"That is not a very Gidget way of thinking." Otto remarked as he took a sip of his drink.

"Yeah well I'm not it a very good mood." Gidget snapped as she raised her glass to her lips. It was extremely hard to drink with the apparatus in her mouth. "I'm tired and-"

"No I mean that's not how the Gidget I know would act." Otto said as he pressed his hand to her forehead. "Gidget have you been breathing in the air?"

"No!" Gidget said harshly, "I've had this stupid breathing apparatus on the whole time." She looked down at the device in her mouth and sighed. "Swear if I still got sick after wearing this thing all day…" She stood up with a grunt and walked to the med lab where she quickly ran a scan on herself. She jumped up on the table and placed her face in the palms of her hands while she waited for the computer to get done. Otto walked in and leaned against the table as the computer beep. Gidget sat where she, unmoving.

"Aren't you going to look?" Otto asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Gidget shook her head, so with a sigh he walked over to the computer and read the results. "Well there is good and bad news. Bad news: you have the virus." Gidget sighed heavily and walked up beside him.

"And the good news?" She asked as she took the breathing apparatus out.

"Good news is it seems that the virus has dispersed and is affecting you much more slowly than the rest of the team was." Otto answered as he typed. Gidget rubbed her eyes tiredly. "It appears that you are about 20 percent changed."

"Okay then," She said with a sigh, "I guess I'll just try to get as much work done as I can before I completely turn." She turned around and walked back to the computer she had been working on and got back to work. "I'm almost done and then I can help you finish up the nano-bots." Otto smiled sadly.

"Now that's the Gidget I know, always pushing yourself to be helpful." He remarked as he sat down beside her again. "You need some rest, why don't you go lay down for a minute and then you can finish this up later." He suggested.

"No!" Gidget snapped, "Don't you get it? We barely stand a chance anyways the way we are now! The last thing we needed was me to get sick too! Now we're going try and fight Skeleton King without Super Robot fully functioning? I don't think so, I'm going to finish up this program and then the nano-bots. Then I'm going to try and help S.R before his mother board is completely fried by this thing." She breathed heavily after her speech and laid her head down on her arms. Otto looked at her a moment before standing up and walking away.

"Fine." He said as he walked away, "Work yourself to death, but when Skeleton King comes you won't be any help to us. We have finished as many nano-bots as we're going to tonight. I don't need you making any more, they wouldn't be ready in time anyways. So get some rest after you finish that up and then we'll fix Super Robot in the morning." Gidget looked up at him and sighed.

"Yeah, alright." She stretched a bit before continuing typing. "I'll finish this up and hit the sack. See you in the morning Otto." The green monkey waved his hand dismissively as he walked away and the door slid behind him. Gidget turned back to the computer with a small, determined smile on her face and continued to work. _Maybe Antauri was right, Otto is much more focused now and we was able to make a ton of nano-bots tonight. Maybe I really do just need to trust the team. _Gidget thought to herself as she worked.

Finally when she was satisfied she, she saved and closed the program and headed for her room_. _She walked quickly to her own room and closed the door behind her as she entered. Geni was asleep sideways on her bed, her art supplies splayed out around her in a mess with her latest drawing decorating the walls. Gidget sighed to herself as she walked over to her younger sister and looked at the pictures covering the walls. There were depictions of the team fighting Formless, and eating together, and playing in the park. To be honest they weren't bad paintings and they added an interesting aspect to the room. Gidget smiled to herself as she hastily picked up the art supplies and rearranged Geni into a more comfortable sleeping position. Gidget stepped back and admired her handy work as she crawled into her hammock. At least she didn't have to sleep with the breathing apparatus, that was one good thing about being infected she guessed. She closed her eyes as the blissful darkness surrounded her and took her into a peaceful rest.

* * *

When she awoke the next morning the first thing Gidget noticed was that her face felt funny, the second was the Geni was once again missing. She quickly got up and hurried to the bathroom to see the damage she expected; Geni had doodled on Gidget's face. Gidget sighed as she washed her face and left the bathroom. As she walked down the hall, she hurt the sound of screaming and clanging coming from the kitchen. She sighed to herself as she entered the chaotic room. Otto was trying to get Geni down from the light fixture on the ceiling as Nova once again harassed Sparx and Gibson used cereal boxes to make a fort on the table. Chiro had his face flat on the table as Jinmay cleaned her finger nails dismissively. Gidget sighed to herself as she turned on her jet pack and plucked Geni from the light. She sat her down as she separated Nova from Sparx for the umpteenth time and grabbed one of Gibson's boxes to eat from.

"Hey!" he said as he stood up in his seat "I was using that-" Gidget turned and glared at him sharply.

"I. Don't. Care." She snapped as she sat down and began eating breakfast. "Everyone sit down, shut up, and eat something. We've got a big fight ahead of us today and everyone needs their energy. And I want peace and quiet while I eat so not a word from anyone, understand?" Jinmay smirked and leaned towards the purple monkey.

"And what happens if we speak?" She asked snarkily. Gidget looked at her coldly as she transformed her hand and pointed her gun straight at Jinmay.

"Why don't you talk again and find out?" Gidget asked as she stared indifferently at her, "I would love to make an example of you if you really want to know." Everyone froze in horror as Gidget held her pose. Jinmay stared slack-jaw at the gun, her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to form words for what was happening. She finally closed her mouth with a snap and Gidget transformed her hand and lowered it to her lap. "That's what I though." Gidget snapped as she continued to eat her breakfast. No one else had much of an appetite after that.

* * *

Gidget and Otto quietly added the program to the nano-bots and set them loose in the Super Robot's mother board. Otto stood there awkwardly after they let them go, unsure what to say.

"Well that was an interesting breakfast to say the least." He finally managed. Gidget continued to stand there silently with her arms crossed as she looked around the room.

"I want this day to end as soon as possible," Gidget answered finally. "Whether we win or lose I could care less, I just want it to end. Let's go." She swiftly turned around and excited the room as Otto scrambled after her.

"Do you think the nano-bots will work?" Otto asked worriedly, but his worry was not for their invention.

"Probably." Gidget said calmly as she walked towards the command center. "But if we don't win this battle I fear that it won't really matter." She calmly walked into the command center. Everyone was nervously standing around as she walked in and stood at attention. "All right everyone here's the report: we have to try and defend the city the best we can till the Super Robot gets better. While Geni stays here and monitors its progress, we'll go out into the city and defend it in hand to hand combat the best we can. If the Super Robot comes back online we will return here and take our positions in our vehicles. Jinmay you will pilot Antauri's. With the Super Robot we should be able to defeat Skeleton King's forces. They are still low after me and Otto destroyed his factory so it shouldn't be that hard. That's the plan, Any questions?" Everyone mumbled no and she nodded with approval. "Good, if that's all let's go fight some Formless. Monkeys Mobilize." She walked out of the robot and everyone slowly followed her. Otto quickly turned to Geni and leaned down to her level. She was staring at Gidget's back with a mix look of fear and worry in her face.

"Everything is going to be okay Genesis." Otto said with an awkward pat on her back, "We'll win the battle then we'll all take the cure and get better, so there's nothing to worry about." The small brown monkey looked at Otto sadly and nodded before turn to the computer and began typing on it. Otto stood back up and hurried to catch up with the rest of the team. _I really hope the antidote works. _Otto thought to himself. _Cause if it doesn't, we're all in trouble. Especially Gidget, she scares me when she like this and the virus hasn't even fully effected her yet. _

_

* * *

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Now enjoy a nice commercial break before we return you to Episode 53, Role Reversal.

Okay so now that's over, is everyone liking the story? Something serious is up with Gidget and it does not spell out g.o.o.d. to me. Any who I have some explaining to do.

As some of you may have heard I have been go cause I had a college summer program I went to for two weeks, then I spent some time with my friends this summer, and finally I hit a bad case of writers block.

In all honesty, time got away from me and a whole month had passed when I had only seemed like a week to me. But I'm back and ready for action so let's keep this ball rolling! After this episode and the one following, I might have to take a short break from Book one: Gidget, to write more Book Zero.

There is a chapter coming up that the stories have to run parallel for it to work. So if you don't already follow Book Zero, you might want to catch up just so you can feel the full force of the story.

Okay done ranting now, you know the drill. R&R and hopefully it won't take two months for me to update again!


	21. Episode 53: Role Reversal End

Cause I don't say this enough, thank you xxAllTheWorldsAStagexx for being an awesome Beta! Now on with the show!

* * *

Skeleton King smiled triumphantly as his army made its way towards the city. He stood on a vast moving platform, his cape bellowed behind him in the wind. Mandarin was crouched at his feet, waiting impatiently for the battle to start. Skeleton King chuckled at his minion's skittishness.

"Calm down Mandarin, you will get your chance to fight shortly." Skeleton King ordered. "You will get to fill your blood lust soon." The orange monkey simply grunted in reply and stood on guard. Skeleton King's grin widened as he turned back towards the approaching city. As his forces made their way across the bridge, he noticed something odd.

The end of the bridge was not empty like he had expected. In fact, it was blocked off by soldiers. The Hyper Force and its allies stood defiantly at the end, blocking the Skeleton King from entering. He growled in irritation as Mandarin started yelling.

"I thought you said they wouldn't stand up to us!" Mandarin snapped, forgetting who he was talking too. "You said we would be able to walk right into the city! You said-" Skeleton King used the end of his scepter to smash it hard against Mandarin's skull. The already unstable clone wobbled for a moment, almost losing his shape entirely. He grabbed his head in pain as he finally gained control of himself and some kind of form.

"Shut, up." Skeleton King issued shortly while he got a better look at the Hyper Force. After a moment of glaring, a smile slowly spread across his face. He saw exactly what he wanted and looked down to the grumbling Mandarin. "Patience, it seems the Hyper Force is not entirely their selves right now." he chuckled a moment before continuing. "Or maybe they are too close to their true natures." He laughed manically at the pun that Mandarin didn't understand as the orange crony slowly stood up and looked towards the Monkey Team confused.

* * *

The Hyper Force stood unsure on the front lines. Everyone was looking to the monkey standing in front of them. They tried not to be unnerved by the fact that Chiro was not leading the team for once and that the silver second-in-command was no where to be seen.

Gidget had her arms crossed and an uncaring look on her face as the opposing army approached. Otto stood not far from her side, constantly giving her worried glances. Chiro was to her opposite side, looking fidgety and down-heartened. Jinmay next to him, her arms crossed in anger as she glared daggers at Skeleton King. The goofily grinning Gibson stood beside a skittish Sparx who was next to a nervous Nova. These three made up the row behind the first four. They made sure they were far enough away from the rest of the Skeleton King Resistance Force to talk without fear of being over heard. Finally Sparx voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"Um, are you sure this is the best place for us to be Gidget?" He asked nervously. She glanced back for a moment and then returned her attention to the front of her again while she answered.

"I'm positive this is the best defensive position we can have." She answered much like her posture, bored. "As the Skeleton King tries to get in, we can bottleneck his forces and pick them off one by one."

"And what if we are over whelmed?" Jinmay asked with a hint of venom in her voice. "We would have just wasted the entire fighting force of Shugazoom on a sketchy technique." Gidget blessed her with a full body turn as she shrugged indifferently and then turned back around once again.

"If we can't hold off his forces long enough for the Super Robot to be returned to working order, then we don't deserve the city." She said shortly as everyone on the team gasped. She had become so uncaring as to the destiny of the city, it was unnerving the already worried team. But Otto gasped for a different reason entirely.

"The Super Robot?" He repeated unsurely. Gidget looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the Super-" She echoed when Otto cut her off again.

"Since when do you call him 'THE Super Robot'?" Otto asked surprised. "I've always just heard you refer to him as 'Super Robot' or 'S.R' or some other silly pet name." Gidget looked at him a moment before shrugging.

"Who cares? It's only a robot after all." She said while turning back around. That was the final flag if anyone needed it, Gidget had changed. And though it hadn't been proven if the rest of the team's change was bad, that was certainly a good indicator that Gidget's was not.

"_You're a horrible person."_ A voice whispered in Gidget's mind. "_Do you even care what happens to your friends? Your home? Your life?" _It hissed at her as she subconsciously batted it away.

_Shut it._ She retaliated at the voice. _To be honest I could care less what happened to them. Why should I?_

"_Why should you!" _It growled at her angrily. _"Maybe because they are your _family_._ _I can't even believe that you would say-"_ With a internal hand wipe, the voice stopped as Gidget turned her attention back to the approaching army. The team stood there with heavy hearts as they watched Skeleton King advance on their city.

* * *

Oh I am simply terrible about these cliffhangers aren't I? Well next chapter will be the start of the next episode and have some serious butt kicking in it. Oh what fun!

Any hoo, just in case you guys were wondering about the poll I've had up for the past month, I shall announce the winners! The pole was "Who is your favorite Gidget pairing?" Whether that pairing is love or friendship.

Tied for 1st was GibsonxGidget and OttoxGidget!

NovaxGidget and GenesisxGidget sisterhood was a close second,

And surprise for me, MandarinxGidget took 3rd! This was a joke people! Why in the world did you vote for this?

Well since we have a tie, I'll post a new poll of just Gibson and Otto and you guys can pick which one you like the most. Ta-ta for now!~


	22. Episode 54: Turning Back

I really should be kicked for not updating this. Sorry, college is harder and more time consuming than I thought.

* * *

If there was one good thing about turning into your opposite self, Jinmay quickly learned, it was that she no long felt guilty about beating the Formless down. For some reason it had always bothered her how easily the team jumped at the opportunity to completely eradicate these enemies. Some part of her had always felt sorry for the poor creatures. They were forced to follow Skeleton King -something she was all too familiar with- whether they really wanted to or not. Now she found it exceptionally easy to completely obliterate them without so much as a second glance. She smiled to herself as she fired a hand laser into a Formless that tried to advance on her. She didn't even flinch at the inhuman sound they made as they collapsed in on their selves. In fact the only thing that bothered her was when Gibson suddenly decided to jump out of no where and attack the group of Formless she was about to. Which is exactly what he just did.

She growled in irritation as she barked "Watch where you're going!" Gibson laughed like a loon as he dashed in between the legs of a Formless and took advantage of the position to freeze the creature's posterior.

"Sorry Jinmay!" He yelled back to her as he used his drills to create a sheet of ice that covered the ground in front of him. He dove for the icy slip-in-slide, slipping across the ground and using his momentum to freeze more Formless as he had a blast. He cheered madly as he slid past a flailing Chiro.

The young Hyper Force leader was attacking anything that moved towards him. As he used his various attacks on them, he let lose a series of not very manly squeals. Jinmay sighed and slapped her own face as she flew over to help him while the rest of the team struggled with their own demons.

Sparx jumped out of the way just as a Formless soldier brought his fist down in his previous place. He hastily scrambled away as the behemoth turned slowly towards him and lumbered Sparx's way. He backed up quickly as the creature's shadow engulfed him and all he could do was close his eyes and gulp quietly. That is until Nova lunged towards the unconventional couple.

"Back away from my Sparky!" She screamed as she introduced the monster to her fist. The Formless exploded into a rain shower of goo as Sparx stood in a stunned stupor. Nova huffed angrily at the blob that use to be a Skeleton King minion before twirling around and tightly wrapping her arms around Sparx's neck. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly as she pushed him back to inspect him head-to-toe. "That monster didn't hurt you did he?" She asked as she spun Sparx this way and that. "I don't know what I would do if anything hurt you!"

"Uh, n-no I'm fine." Sparx finally stuttered out. "S-still in one piece and all that j-jazz." he said with a forced smirk. In any other situation that smirk would have won an eye roll from Nova,-some part of Sparx desperately wanted it to- but instead, she giggled at him and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Oh that's great! Well I have to go beat up some more Formless, you keep out of trouble for me okay?" She winked at him as she spun on her heel and swaggered away, swishing her tail seductively. She suddenly halted in her steps, half-turned, and blew a kiss to Sparx before jetting way to attack more Formless. Sparx blushed furiously as he wiped his brow.

"Man I hope Gidget and Otto's cure works soon, I can't handle much more of that." Sparx admitted to himself. It seems Sparx was finally starting to realize the serious repercussions to having an equally flirtatious member on the team. "I like her better when she is giving me blows in the kisser rather than when she's blowing me kisses." The red pilot sighed as he rubbed his face and looked towards another fighting couple. "And speaking of Meteor and Mech-head…"

Gidget was haphazardly shooting at anything that moved around her, thus causing everyone to stay a good bit of distance from her. Well everyone but our favorite mechanic. Otto was trying his best to make sure Gidget remained in one piece as she attacked the Formless. Currently, she was furiously firing into a group of floundering Formless, leaving her left flank open for an attack. Otto swiftly sent his saws sailing through the air and sliced the surprised enemies. He breathed heavily as Gidget continued to ignore all dangers to her safety and that annoying voice in her head.

_Are you trying to get yourself killed! _It hissed at her as she sent a couple of boom bombs into the crowd a tad bit too close for comfort. _Or are you trying to get your teammates killed? That last shot almost took Gibson's head off! _

"Shut up." She growled under her breath as she turned on a heart beat and shot a dangerously close Formless. It splattered all over her, drenching her from the head down in freakazoid matter. The sticky material blended into her fur, making her a sickly, inky color.

_Honestly,_ the voice continued, _it almost seems like you want to die and let Skeleton King win. _Gidget remained eerily silent to this accusation as Skeleton King suddenly began speaking.

"Well hello there Hyper Force." Skeleton King said smoothly as he watched them fight his army. "I see you got the present I sent you. How do you enjoy getting treated to a dose of your true natures?"

"What are you blathering on about?" Jinmay snapped. She paused for a moment to shoot a Formless soldier who was about to tackle the quivering Chiro and brought her attention back to Skeleton King, "We're acting nothing like we normally do!" Skeleton King laughed evilly.

"That is my point exactly. You lie to yourselves when you act like you care for one another, when you act like want to protect the city, when you act like you are smarter, stronger, and nicer than you actually are." Skeleton King explained as the team slowly stopped fighting to listen to him. "You hide behind these facades you call your 'true' personalities and lie to yourself every single day. You pretend you are tougher, or wittier."

Nova slowly lowered her fist as Sparx stepped closer. "Some of you act goofy, maybe so everyone will like you more. Or maybe you act like you're a leader when you're really just a scared little boy." Otto looked down to the ground and studied it with a cool stare as Chiro cringed back in fear from Skeleton King. "And maybe, just maybe, you act like you actually care about this team when really all you want to do is end their miserable lives right now." Skeleton King quietly studies their expressions, stopping at Gidget who met his stare without wavering. His smile spread wider, revealing a row of eerily sharp teeth. "In fact, I am doing you a huge favor right now." The team looked down heartened- what if everything he was saying was true? "By showing you this now you can all give up and we can stop this useless fighting-"

"NO!" A voice suddenly cut through the silence. "You're lying!" Otto continued as he stood tall. "It might be true that we lie to ourselves occasionally, like whether we really like someone, or not or if we really believe something or simply going with the crowd," He clinched a fist as he used his free hand to point to Skeleton King. "Even you lie to yourself sometimes, like when you actually believe your schemes and tricks are working or that you are actually going to defeat us and take over the city." Skeleton King growled in irritation as Otto continued. "But I know this team, and I can tell you that there is no way if Sparx was actually acting like his true nature, he wouldn't be in a comatose state right now because Nova is fawning over him. And I can also tell you that Nova isn't acting like herself because she would never fawn over Sparx. And if Chiro was anywhere close to his true nature, he wouldn't be cringing in fear right now, in fact he would be the one giving you this speech." Otto took a deep breath. "In short, you might try to trick us by lying but I know for a fact that my teammates care about the city, they care about their family, and they can't wait to kick your butt."

Skeleton King growled in irritation and quickly spun on his heel, making his cape billow out behind him. "Perhaps you better make sure who is really part of your 'family' then." He hissed quietly. Otto stood tall and with his chin raised high as the rest of the team gathered in a small group behind him, questioning if the speech he had just given was really true. One monkey stood apart from the rest of the team though, Gidget looked towards Skeleton King's back without her usual glare. Instead she started with a look of contemplation as she thought about his parting words and her gaze slowly turned towards the backs of the rest of the team.

* * *

Short opening chapter like always, this should not have taken this long to post but guess who as lazy?

Anyways, Book 0 and TCBH! should update eventually, have to finish writing both of them. Man I wish I had started these stories way before my final year of high school.

I lurv you my faithful readers, you truly are all wonderful, I just wish I was a more punctual writer. ;-;


	23. Episode 54: Turning Back Part 2

*Small Victory dance commences for the new chapter.*  


* * *

Genesis watched as lines of data flashed across the screen. Apparently, this was a sign that the Super Robot was getting better but she really didn't care. She lazily doodled on a piece of paper and sighed as she waited for the team to return victorious like they always did, she just wished they would win sooner.

She was unbelievably bored sitting in the Super Robot. She couldn't even watch the fight like she usually did because the Robot was broken. She was positive that there was an awesome fight going on and she couldn't even see it.

Annoyed, she sat up and halfheartedly tossed her drawing pad across the room. She then crossed her arms and turned away from the computer with a huff. Gidget was probably kicking butt and taking names, and here she was inside the robot, away from all the action. The fight was probably almost over anyways!

Then a thought dawned on her. If the fight was over, than it would be safe for her to go out, right? She clapped her hands excitably, she didn't have to sit in the robot by herself anymore! She could go out and watch the team. Genesis jumped up and ran to the color tubes that lined the wall and jumped inside the purple one. She smiled to herself as she slid down, happy that she came to such an obvious conclusion. She hummed happily to herself as she exited the Robot and straight into the heart of the battle.

She looked around in confusion, the fight was still very much going on. The SKRF members streamed passed her as they attacked the oncoming Formless horde. She blinked in surprise that they were still fight the bad guys. Suddenly a armor clad Formless with a large sword staggered towards her, obviously intent on making her a pretty little smudge on the side walk.

Genesis gave a small yelp of surprise as she jumped and teleported away from the monster and deeper into the battle. She gasped in surprise as she reappeared in the middle of a small band of SKRF members. They were extremely focused on attacking the Formless, so they didn't notice when the small monkey suddenly popped in behind them. The Formless threw a large blob of goo at the small group and the members scrambled away quickly while Geni stood slack jaw a moment in shock. Finally she activated her jet pack and zoomed up and out of the way before the glob hit. She looked around confused and scared, she had never been in battle before. She twirled around a few times, looking for anyone she knew, when a glint of metal caught her eye.

She looked over to see Gidget standing closer to the bridge that lead into the Wastelands. Her and the rest of the Team's attention was focused on Skeleton King who was currently giving a very angry speech. Genesis smiled as she soared towards them on her jet pack.

Well a small, flying monkey with a large red bow is not an easy thing to miss, even for Formless, and Geni had successfully caught their attention. They jumped and pounced at her, snatching for purchase. Geni squeaked in surprise as she dodged their attacks. She repeatedly began teleporting short distances to escape the clutching claws. After the third time of reappearing, she saw she was just a short distance away from Gidget and the Team.

She gave a short squeal of happiness and began to ready her next jump as a Formless launched its self at her and swatted. The smack contacted with her just before she jumped, so as her velocity was increased as she disappeared and reappeared only a couple feet above the ground. She kept that velocity as she smacked into the dirt, rolling a few feet and stopping finally at the claws of someone much more sinister than Formless.

Mandarin grinned evilly as he used his claw to pick up the battered Genesis. "Hello there." He hissed as he lifted the girl up to eye level. "I don't think I've met you before." A sick grin was splattered across his face as Geni slowly opened her eyes and locked looks with Mandarin. She squeaked in surprise and disgust as she tried to wiggle out of his death grip. He clicked his tongue at her attempts as he tightened his grip on her.

"Now, now, be a good little pest and stop squirming." Mandarin cooed as he brought her face close to his, "I can end this much more quickly if you stop-"

"Let her go!" A yell suddenly shot through the crowd. The orange abomination looked up to see a glaring Hyper Force staring him down. His grin widened as he dropped Genesis to the ground and then quickly snatched up her arm painfully with his claw. She gave a silent scream as he applied so much pressure that he actually broke the metal and embedded the claw deep in her arm, successfully stopping her from teleporting away.

"Ah Hyper Force." Mandarin said with a smirk, "Good to see you again, do you mind telling me who this little urchin is?" He lifted Geni off her feet and she swung limply in defeat.

"Let Genesis go Mandarin." Jinmay growled as she clenched her fist.

"Genesis?" Mandarin repeated with a laugh before turn the brown monkey to face him. "I bet they call you Geni." Then his brows knitted together and he looked closely at the terrified monkey. "I remember you." He said suddenly. Geni's terrified pink eyes went wide and she stared, mouth wide at Mandarin as Nova spoke up.

"Please don't hurt her!" She pleaded as Mandarin laughed sickly.

"And lose such a good bargaining chip? I don't think so." Once again, the orange monkey cackled as the team tensed up. "Skeleton King, my lord, What do you want me to do with the girl?" He called suddenly to his undead master.

Skeleton King turned slowly and looked at Genesis a moment while stroking his chin. "Whatever you wish." He finally answered as he continued his walk away. Mandarin looked back to Genesis with revenge glinting in his eyes.

"Excellent." He said as he painfully twisted Geni's arm behind her back and pulled her close to his chest. He transformed his other hand into his light saber and held it to her neck as he addressed the team. "It seems that you fools are quite attached to this little annoyance. So if you want to keep her mostly in one piece, I would heed me." To demonstrate the power he held over the team, he squeezed down on her arm yet again and it began to crush like a soda can. The terrified Geni squirmed in fear and tried to escape her capture's grip but to no avail.

The Team tensed up at her struggles, but stood their ground. Well, all except one member of the team. In a dark purple blur, Gidget was suddenly standing in front of the Hyper Force, and she had her gun trained on Mandarin. He laughed as Gidget glared at him.

"Put the gun down you fool, unless you want to finish her off." He pulled the saber closer to a terrified Geni's neck, but Gidget didn't budge.

"Let my sister go." She said all too calmly as she kept the gun level. Mandarin's grin finally dropped and he took a step back.

"If you make one move towards me, the girl gets it." He lifted Geni off her feet and used only his claw to prop her up. The saber singed the fur around her neck and she gulped as Gidget stood her ground. Tears crowed the corners of her eyes as she looked to Gidget pleadingly.

"I'm gonna say this one more time," Gidget spat at him. "Let her go."

"Do you realize that I will kill her, correct?" Mandarin asked as Otto stepped up beside Gidget.

"Stop this!" He snapped at her, "You're going to get Genesis killed!" Gidget glanced at him and glared.

"I can make the shot without hitting Geni." Gidget stated as she turned her attention back to a worried Mandarin.

"If you pull that trigger and kill me, I'll decapitate the girl with me." Mandarin warned as he glared at Gidget. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm much easier to replace than your sister." He hissed, but Gidget did not move. He growled in frustration at her stubbornness. "Do you think I won't end her!" He snapped.

In a fit of rage he clamped the rest of the way down on Geni's arm. She squealed as pain shot through her body and she lost all feeling in her hand, it hung limply behind her. Oil dripped off Mandarin's claw as Gidget's eyes thinned and she cocked her gun.

"Gidget don't you dare!" Otto and Mandarin yelled in unison. She ignored them and pulled the trigger. Otto tackled Gidget as Mandarin stepped back in surprise. The bullet tore through the air and straight into the pair. Mandarin's skull exploded and splattered black goo everywhere.

"Geni!" Everyone screeched in unison as the headless Mandarin stood a moment longer, clutching the now black Geni. Finally, it's saber sputtered out and the monster fell back as Geni crumpled to her knees and began sobbing softly while clutching her neck.

The team rushed to her side to check on her as Otto glared at Gidget in anger.

"You could have killed her!" He screamed as Gidget sat up and dusted herself off.

"I had everything under control. I knew exactly what I was doing, she was in no danger." She answered mechanically. "In fact, the danger was only posed to her when you _pushed_ me."

"If I _hadn't_ pushed you, Geni would have been the one shot and not Mandarin!" Otto argued as he stood up and looked down at Gidget. She met his stare as she got up and they stood toe-to-toe.

"I had everything under control." Gidget repeated through clenched teeth and clenched fists. "I've made that shot before." As the words left her mouth though, Gidget's face dropped. She looked blankly past Otto and blinked slowly.

Otto glared a moment more before he realized that Gidget wasn't all there. He slowly lifted his hand in front of her face and waved it with no response. "Gidget?" Otto asked cautiously, "Are you alright?"

"Will you two stop fighting and get over here!" Jinmay suddenly screamed. "Geni could be hurt." She frowned at them until she realized that neither was arguing anymore. She was about to stand up when Gidget suddenly turned and jogged to the weeping Genesis, barely paying attention to what she was doing. Nova was currently trying to calm the bawling girl down when the pair arrived.

"It's okay sweetie." Nova cooed as she petted the girl's grime covered head. "You're okay now, right Gibson?" the yellow monkey said as she looked hopefully up to the medical monkey.

"I dunno." Gibson answered informally. "She's too gross to check and see if she really is hurt." Geni started sobbing louder at this news, which earned Gibson seven ugly glares. As Gidget and Otto knelt down beside her though, she stopped crying long enough to grip both in a hug. She clung to their chests for dear life, spreading the former Monster all over their battle stained fur as she sobbed.

Otto held his hands up in an confused defense, complete unsure how to comfort the girl. He found himself looking to Gidget for the answer and he immediately started glaring at her, when he realized that her attention was not on him or Geni.

Her gaze was set off a little, she seemed to be thinking about something, then she blinked and looked down at Genesis. Her face contorted for a moment into a look of sadness and regret. But as soon as it appeared, the look was gone again and replaced with an uncaring, uninterested stare.

Suddenly, Gidget gripped Geni's chin and tilted her head upward. She the ball of her hand to wipe the grime and muck away from Geni's eyes. She then took the girl firmly by the shoulders and pushed Genesis off her chest and into a standing position. Genesis stood in shock as Gidget lifted herself off the ground and looked down at the girl.

"You're fine now, stop blubbering and get back to the robot where you belong." Gidget said calmly before turning on her heel and walking back towards the fight. Everyone stood in shock as the girl walked away, until Otto growled and started to storm towards her.

He opened his mouth to shout, when suddenly there was a tremendous boom and the ground shook below them. Several fighters fell to the ground, including Gidget, as everyone looked up and saw the Super Robot lumbering towards the team.

Everyone scrambled to move out of his way, but many unfortunate Formless were not quick enough and were crushed under his enormous feet. He stopped in front of the ecstatic team as a circle shaped opening was revealed on his chest and a familiar silver simian floated calmly inside.

"Antauri!" Everyone yelled in unison as the mentor smiled down at them and held his hands open.

"Do you mind if I interrupt the battle to offer additional assistance?" He asked the team as they laughed and activated their jet packs, flying towards the Robot. Jinmay picked up Geni as Gidget didn't bother to get up. She stared at the ground as Otto looked her over. Then with a sigh, he placed his hand on her shoulder and hauled her to her feet. From there she activated her jet pack and followed the rest of the team with her head down.

As the team landed inside the Robot, Antauri's eyes were drawn to the limp body of Geni. He looked at the team with a mixture of confusion and concern as Jinmay simply spat out one word: "Mandarin." His face turned back into his calm, understanding demeanor as he simply ordered.

"Take her to the Medical Laboratory. Team, report to your posts." Everyone nodded and immediately went to their tubes. Gidget slowly walked to hers, keeping her head down and refusing to look up at anyone. Antauri watched as while the rest of the team looked at her confused, Otto held a look of disappointment as he walked to his own. Once everyone was inside, they blasted off towards their vehicles.

"Tail Slitherer Seven, Go." Gidget said quietly as the computer hooked up to the back of her head.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Six, Go!" Nova yelled happily.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser Five, Go!" Otto said without his normal enthusiasm.

"Fist Rocket Four, Go!" Gibson cheered excitably.

"Fist Rocket Three, Go!" Sparx yelled, joyful to be back in his element.

"Brain Scrambler Pilot Two, Go!" Antauri said calmly, glad just to be conscious again.

"Torso Tank Driver One, Go!" Chiro yelled as he confidence slowly returned. As the team Finished yelling out the team name though, Gidget remained quiet. Otto watched her on screen a moment, his face in the same disappointed glare as the screen changed to the fight.

With the SKRF out of the way and on the edge of the battle, the robot was free to stomp the remaining Formless. Skeleton King screamed in frustration as he slammed his staff on the platform. It began a quick retreat as did the Skeleton King minion army.

"Sparx, Gibson! Take care of that platform!" Chiro commanded as he felt surer of his decisions and orders. "Nova, Otto, take care of the main legions. Gidget protect our back."

"Ya got it Kid!" Sparx cheered in response and both he and Gibson fired the finger rockets as retreating platform. They missed the platform as it scurried out of range, but they hit the bridge, sending shudders across the structure.

"Right!" Nova and Otto agreed in unison as they began stomping the Formless. Gidget silently transformed the tip of the tail into a rotating fan blade and began slicing through the Formless as they got near the back of the Robot.

The Formless rushed the shaking bridge as Skeleton King growled and swung his staff at the retreating minions. "Turn around and attack that Robot!" He screeched. The Formless stopped and stared at each other a moment before turning around and obediently obeyed orders. They gathered underneath the fist rockets and the large, bloated Formless stood directly under them.

"What in the world are they doing?" Gibson pondered as the Formless's necks suddenly expanded like a frog and they spat a sticky string at the Fist Rockets. It stuck solidly as they Formless grabbed the substance and yanked the Robot forward. Everyone was thrown off balance the Robot lurched forward and Formless began swarming the Foot Cruisers.

"It's just like the other battle!" Chiro pointed out as everyone struggled against their controls to keep the Robot vertical. "They're trying to take over the Robot!"

"Oh no you don't!" Nova yelled as she flipped a switch and a turret appeared on top of the Foot Cruiser Six and she began firing at the Formless who tried to climb on. Otto followed suit as Gibson and Sparx struggled against the controls of the Fist Rockets as the Formless tried to pull them down.

Suddenly, the Tail Slither spun from behind the Robot and cut the cord connecting the criminals to Gibson. "Ah thank you Gidget." Gibson said formally as she only gave a short nod in response.

Meanwhile, Nova spun the canon around and began to shoot the line connecting Sparx to the Formless. It snapped and sent Sparx sprawling backwards against the floor.

"Are you okay?" She asked worried as Sparx sat up and smirked.

"Yeah I'm fine, babe. Thanks for the concern though." He winked at Nova who only growled.

"Don't call me 'babe' Jerk." She said with an eye roll.

"Aw Why do you have to be so mean to me?" Sparx asked with a grin as his eyes went wide and he smiled wider. "Hey, you're being harsh to me again!"

"Yeah and you're acting like an idiot again." Nova said angrily before it dawned on her. "You're acting like your normal idiotic self!"

"Aw does this mean I'm not smart any more?" Otto asked sadly and with large puppy dog eyes.

"No it means that our antibodies are working again that we are fighting off the virus!" Gibson said excitably. "In summary, we are returning back to our routine natures!"

"Well then team," Chiro said confidently, "then let's show these Formless how we can kick their butts any day of the week." The Team cheered happily, excluding Antauri who just nodded with agreement and Gidget who clutched the handles of the Tail Slither tightly.

The team began fiercely attacking the Formless once again, who quickly realized that going after the Robot was a pointless endeavor. They rushed back to the bridge as the Robot stomped and shot the ones who moved close enough to be attacked.

As they rushed the bridge it began to buckle and break, large cracks started to run the length of the structure as it started to wobble from the shear weight of the Formless crossing it. Finally, the bridge couldn't stand the pressure any longer and started to fall apart into the lake. The platform Skeleton King was on had almost reached the end of the bridge, when the cables supporting that side gave out and the entire end slid towards the water.

Skeleton King held on to his throne as the platform tried to scurry back up the bridge. The pillars crumbled, the wires snapped, and the city watched as Skeleton King and his armies fell into the ocean with a tremendous splash.

Everyone sat on the edge of their seats a moment, silent shock surrounding them. Then cheering broke out and everyone began jumping and screaming in joy. People were grabbing each other and dancing in the streets. Weapons were thrown in the air and others just stood there silently and started to cry joyfully.

Inside the Robot, however, the Team sat in shock as they watched the bubbles and ripples die down in the water. They stared somberly for a moment longer before Chiro laughed shakily.

"We did it." He said finally to break the eerier silence. "We did it!" He yelled happily while laughing louder. "Team we finally beat him!" Everyone began laughing, yelling and cheering suddenly.

Sparx threw his hands in the air and cheered loudly while he fell back on the ground laughing. Gibson grinned widely as he shook his head in amazement, "I can't believe it's finally over." he breathed heavily and laughed.

Nova cupped her hands to her mouth but even that couldn't hide huge smile that stuck there as she giggled and tears formed in her eyes. "After everything we went through, everything we sacrificed…" She trailed off as she was so stunned she couldn't even complete the though.

"It's finally finished." Antauri said amazed. He couldn't even hide his own excitement under his normally stoic expression this time. "It's finally over team."

"It is?" Otto asked cautiously, waiting to see if a hand shot out of the water. But nothing jumped back out, there wasn't even a ripple. "Really, it's honestly over this time?" Excitement and happiness crept into his voice as he clapped his hands and cheered loudly.

"Yeah Otto," Chiro sighed. "I really think it is." He sat back in his seat and laughed as the team continued to celebrate and Jinmay's voice came over the intercom.

"Team what in the world is going on out there?" She asked worriedly, "I just got finished cleaning Geni up and putting her in the Med bay when I got on the screen to see how the battle was going and everyone is up in arms and cheering. What happened?"

"We defeated him Jinmay." Chiro laughed, "We finally did it." There was silence on the other line before the static broke and she asked quietly.

"…really?"

"Yeah, really."

A scream of joy shot through the Robot and everyone laughed as they exited their vehicles to join the celebration. Slowly their screens clicked off until there was only Gidget left sitting in her Slither. Her head hung low as she finally let go of the handles with shaking hands. She unwrapped her tail from it's control and it hung limply behind her as she reached back and unhooked the connection to Robot. The Tail Slither went dark and only emergency lights shone as Gidget stepped off of her feet controls and collapsed on the floor.

Her legs felt like jelly wrapped in cling wrap, unable to support her body. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably. She had barely paid attention to the end of the battle, everything was blur. She felt like she had been watching it from behind a window darkened.

She tried to stand up, only to stumble once again. So she just curled up into a ball, she brought her chin to her chest, wrapped her arms around her knees and she sobbed sadly.

The one coherent thought that circled through her head as she laid there was simply, _I messed up this time, I messed up so bad. _

* * *

Hello my faithful and wonderful readers! I cannot begin to express my utter gratitude that you keep following these stories even when I got on unbelievably long breaks! You guys are truly amazing!

I know I have a crazy schedule with very little time for writing, (College yeah! :D) so your patience is greatly appreciated.

I would like to give a huge thanks to AllxThexWorld'sxAxStage for being an awesome Beta and making sure this story isn't utter dribble! And with that, I must bring some explanation as to way this is so late.

Ya see, during the crazy season of Christmas, I was struck suddenly with the desire to write. So I sat down and wrote for several hours on my computer and made major headway in the story. Then I happily went to bed, glad that I had finally gotten something done for once.

Unfortunately that same night, my family was struck with misfortune and our family dog perished in a fire. After that, I suddenly didn't want to write for a while.

But it's all good now, we are moving on with the knowledge that he is in a better place and I can't wait to start this story up again in full force!

I thank you all for the wonderful support and feedback you give me, you all are beautiful and amazing people.

Love you all, and I PROMISE that there will be more chapters of this and Book 0 up soon.

~Till next time!~


	24. Episode 54: Turning Back Part 3

*Walks in, throws new chapter in front of you* Enjoy.

* * *

As the leader of Hyper Force exited his tube, and Jinmay wasted no time in running straight into his arms. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she buried her face into his chest. He blinked in surprise a moment before gently wrapping his arms around her and sighing joyfully.

"It's over." She breathed happily.

"Yup." Chiro said as he slowly rubbed her back, "It's over." He echoed as the rest of the team began to enter the control room. Jinmay pushed back from her boyfriend with smiled and pointed towards Gibson's lab.

"I put Geni in one of the healing tubes," she explained as she started walking to the Med Lab. "But I want you to make sure I hooked her up right, Gibson." The scientist nodded as he walked into the room and examined the small, brown monkey floating in the healing gel. A breathing apparatus was placed firmly in her mouth and her chest slowly rose and fell with steady breaths that matched the beeping of the computer. Gibson nodded in approval as he stroked his chin and double checked the system.

"Yes, it appears everything was correctly prepared." He said as he moved to another computer and typed a few lines of commands. "But I want to scan everyone to make sure the virus is being defeated by the anti-bodies accordingly. Who wants to go first?"

"Ya know I usually hate getting check ups," Sparx grinned as he placed his hands behind his head, "but this time I think I'm excited for once." He jumped up on the examining table as Gibson set up the scanner and turned it on before rotating to face the rest of the team.

"Wonderful, and then Jinmay and Chiro can go next-I want to compare the difference between how the nano-bots fight in the organic and mechanical bodies- then maybe Nova and Gidget will want to go…" Gibson trailed off as he realized that the purple monkey was absent. "Has anyone seen Gidget?" Everyone looked around and slowly shook their heads.

"She didn't came down with the rest of us." Otto answered quietly as he held his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels. Everyone got eerily quiet as they stood around, looking at the ground.

"Should," Nova finally spoke with a slight pause. "One of us go get her?" She finished slowly as no one jumped at the chance. Everyone turned to Otto, fully expecting him to volunteer immediately for the job, but the mechanic had found one of Gibson's experiments highly more interesting at the moment. No one really knew how to approach Gidget after everything that had happened.

The single thought that still lingered on their minds was the last thing Skeleton King had said to them: "_Perhaps you better make sure who is really part of your 'family' then._"

That one sentence had really struck a cord with them, considering they still had not truly figured out what the virus had done to them. If it had really somehow changed their personalities to make them act opposite of their usual selves, then the way Gidget had acted was more forgivable. But, if it had revealed their true personalities, then what did that say about not only her, but themselves? Everyone struggled with this thought, as Gidget suddenly appeared in the doorway of the lab.

Everyone turned and studied her as she tried to gain the courage to speak. Her fur was still stained with the Formless she had mercilessly killed, she absentmindedly rubbed her upper forearms with her hands as she finally uttered a stuttering "I-I-" She took a sudden step forwards and everyone simultaneously stepped away.

She froze a moment, taken back but not shocked. Her gaze darted away and hovered on Genesis's body a moment before she bit her lip and snapped a hasty, "Sorry," before twirling around and darting back out of the room. Everyone stood like statues a moment more before being interrupted by the ding of the computer, signaling Sparx's scan was over.

Chiro stepped forward to go after Gidget when Sparx suddenly jumped off the table. "I got this Kid." He said as he walked out of the room. He silently walked down the hall until he came to the bathroom door. He hesitated only a moment before using the back of his hand to knock shortly. "Gidget, can I come in?"

There was a long moment of silence, Sparx turned to leave, but the door slid opened and Gidget moved aside to let him in. She turned quickly around to the sink and began to wipe the black goo out of her fur with a tan towel. Sparx let the door slid close behind him as he leaned against the tub opposite the large mirror and crossed his arms. He looked Gidget over a moment before asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

A muffled reply that might have been "no" came from Gidget as she rubbed her face with the towel. She stopped moving and just stood there with her face buried in the cloth. Sparx stood silently to the side a moment before he moved towards her and gently pulled her hands away from her face.

Silent tears streaked down her face, leaving semi-clean trails of fur on her cheeks. She met his gaze and quietly mumbled, "I can't get it off." He sighed and pointed for to the counter. After a second, Gidget jumped up and sat down on it while Sparx wet the corner of the cloth with warm water. He began scrubbing her cheeks, trying his best to get what was left of the Formless off her face to little avail. After a few moments of making little to no progress he sighed and set his hands on his hips.

"I don't think that gunk is coming off, Meteor." Sparx stated calmly as Gidget half turned to the mirror behind her.

'So I'll always look like a monster then?" She asked, only half referring to her fur. Sparx stood there looking at her a moment before jumping up beside her and looking towards the ceiling.

"I meant, I don't think it's coming off with just this wimpy washcloth." He lifted the darkened towel with two fingers before tossing into the cloth hamper. "It will probably take some soap, a lot of hot water, and some elbow grease, but your good with that kind of stuff. With a little work, I think you can get your fur back to its purple glory." He ruffled her head, but Gidget just stared at the floor miserably.

"Or no matter what I do, I'll permanently be marked as a freak." Gidget said as she studied her hands. "A monster who tries to kill her family members and friends." She said mechanically as she slowly clenched and unclenched her fists. "Sparx, I screwed up so bad this time. They'll never see me the same." Tears started to collect at the corners of her eyes as Sparx simply spoke.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Gidget slowly turned to him surprised.

Her jaw dropped a bit, "You're not suppose to agree with me!"

"Well I don't want to lie to you!" Sparx countered as he crossed his arms. "Heck, they are still uncomfortable around me since that whole deal with the Fire of Hate." Sparx said as he looked straight ahead. He smirked without humor, just pain from the memories. "They don't realize it, but they make sure that someone else is always in yellin' distance when ever they are around me. And you want to know something Crash?" He turned to her with that same cruel, crooked smile.

"It sucks. Hard." He shifted back on the counter until his back rested against the cool mirror and sighed. "And I don't know if they will ever trust me again, but this is where we differ." He turned to Gidget and gave her a soft smile she hadn't seen on the pilot yet. "Cause you couldn't help it, could you?"

"What do you mean?" Gidget asked befuddled. Sparx smiled a little wider.

"What was is like when you were out there fighting? Explain to me what you were thinking." Gidget thought about it hard a minute, before finally answering.

"At first it was like I had two voices in my head fighting for control. One kept telling me I was doing wrong and people were going to get hurt if I wasn't careful, while another just did whatever she wanted. It was like being torn from the inside out I guess." Gidget finally said.

Sparx smiled, and nodded. "Of course that's how you felt" He assured. He personally knew what it felt like to betray the team, and he was excited to assure Gidget this, but she kept talking. Her voice took on a slightly off, drone tone as she continued.

"But then, the voice that told me it was wrong got quieter and quieter till it completely disappeared. And then I didn't feel like I was struggling against myself anymore, it actually felt like I was doing the right thing.

"I kept assuring myself that I never should have gotten in this stupid war in the first place, and that I wasn't helping at all. I realized that there was no reason for me to be on Shugazoom, this wasn't my fight and here I was risking my tail for people I didn't even know! I mean the whole situation was crazy. And then Mandarin got a hold of Geni and I just…." Gidget's eyes went blank and she stared quietly into space. Sparx sat there a minute, and was on the verge of calling for Gibson when Gidget suddenly finished, "Lost it. I wasn't mad, it was like I completely slipped away and another, meaner me took over. And I was fine with it, cause that me has dealt with this before. I done worse than that, Sparx." She slowly turned to the red monkey and studied his face before whispering. "… a lot worse…"

Sparx studied her silently as Gidget slowly turned away from him and looked back to the wall. He follow her stare and both sat there silently for what felt like hours. Finally, Gidget mutter something under her breath and Sparx answered with a shaky voice.

"What was that Gidget?" He asked through a mouth full of cotton. He knew what she was feeling, cause he felt the same regret after his betrayal too.

"I said," Gidget sighed wretchedly, "I think I'm starting to remember my past." He looked at her shocked as she slowly met his gaze. "And I hate what I'm seeing."

.:~::~:.

Sparx sighed as he walked down the hall, rubbing the back of his head. After talking to Gidget, he had decided to let her bath in peace while he worked out damage control. He had to talk to the team and explain to them that Gidget needed a bit more time, that they all needed a bit more time.

He sighed again and rubbed his cheeks, contorting his face this way and that. Finally, after a few moments, he turned and headed back towards the Medical lab. It was empty minus the floating girl in the tube in the corner, and Gibson looking over a clip board while typing quickly on the computer. Sparx cleared his throat, causing Gibson to look up from his work before speaking.

"Hey Brain-Strain," Sparx joked as he strutted into the lab. "Make any headway on that virus-ma-bob?" He kept his tone jolly, which relaxed Gibson while at the same time annoying him.

"A bit, I finished everyone but Gidget's scans so next time you see her could you bring her here for me to examine?" Gibson asked while he continued to work. "I really do need to speak with her about-"

"Look Gibson," Sparx sighed as he predicted where this was going. "I already talked to the her and you don't need to worry about what happened out there." He hooked his thumb to the direction of the battle, as Gibson looked at him baffled.

"What are you blathering on about? I want to talk to her about the program she made." He stated as Sparx oohed softly. "I mean she created a complete and complex program that was compatible with the nanobots in matter of hours. It's extraordinary I wish to speak to her about it so that I can better understand whatever that virus that attacked us was."

Sparx blinked in surprise. "So, you aren't upset with her about how she acted out there?" He asked delicately.

Gibson shook his head, "I withhold all judgment till I can better understand what not only caused her, but all of us to act in such outlandish ways. Besides," He sighed while looking towards Genesis. "There are other more pressing matters to attend to than worrying about what caused Gidget's sudden heel turn." He rubbed his head before turning back to the computer screen. "Though I can't really speak for the rest of the team on whether or not they are reserving judgment. I don't think they really fancy another betrayal so soon after the last and are trying to be a bit more cautious."

Sparx sucked in air, "Yeah I guess you're right about that." He awkwardly jumped from one foot to the other while Gibson began to work again. "So I guess I'll be leaving then?"

"If you wish." Gibson said without lifting his head. Sparx nodded silently as he turned to leave. "And Sparx?" Gibson called, causing the pilot to turn around once more. "I know I have not really had time to address this but this seems as good as time as any. I don't blame you for what happened…there." He was hesitant to speak of the resurrection of Skeleton King. "If you remember correctly, I was also almost put under the spell of those dreadful items."

"Yeah, but you pulled back." Sparx spat, anger arising in him but not at Gibson, at himself.

"Yes but I could just as easily not have." He said. "I also didn't launch myself at it haphazardly."

"Gibson is there a point to this?" Sparx asked annoyed and eager to free himself from the company of the scientist.

"Yeeeesss." Gibson drug out the word as he toyed with a flask of blue liquid on his desk. "I'm saying that anyone of us could have fallen under the spell of the Fire of Hate. There is no need to beat yourself up over that." He suddenly smiled while placing his hand on Sparx's shoulder. "And once again I reserve judgment for actions done while under mysterious spells till I can better understand the cause." Sparx stared from Gibson, to his hand and back again, mouth a gaped.

"Why bring this up now?" Sparx asked confused. Gibson sighed while throwing his hands in the air.

"Because I'm not an idiot Sparx! I can tell when something is amiss, really now." Huffing, he re-crossed his arms. "In light of recent events, I felt that you needed to be told this. We are a team after, it is our job to reassure and such.

"Besides, if you have not noticed, we often do not voice our true feelings on such things. I just wanted to explain to you that even though we might seem distraught over everything," Gibson waved his hands around to emphasize that whole situation over the past few months. "That you realized that everyone is not against you for a mistake. We might not really understand it, but we don't blame you."

The two boys stared at each other a moment. Slowly Sparx smiled and nodded. "Yeah I get ya, thanks Gibson." Smiling, he patted the blue monkey's back. "Well you get back to fixing the little Princess over there, I'm gonna go try and find the rest of the team and…" Fix it? Start damage control? He really didn't have a clue. So he simply shrugged which Gibson took as an answer.

"I wouldn't worry to much about her, after I got what was left of Mandarin off of her, I realized that she really didn't have that much damage. Well besides the crushed arm that is." Gibson shrugged. "Which in itself is odd."

"Odd?" Sparx echoed, "How is her arm odd?" Gibson walked towards another computer and brought up an x-ray of Geni.

"Well if you look here, you can tell that Genesis does not have the hollowed out arms that the rest of us do. It's not that she just doesn't have weapons, it is that she does not even have room for them." Gibson explained. "Also, the fact that she is so much smaller than us strikes me as odd. I mean, why would the Alchemist make a smaller monkey? And one without weapons at that."

Sparx gasped, he was right, it was really weird. "Why would he do that? We were made to fight evil."

"Exactly," Gibson said while shaking his head, "It just does not make sense. At least Gidget does have weapons and was obviously made for combat, but Genesis was not. Her powers also befuddle me. I mean Gidget's telepathy is explainable perhaps, Antauri does have it too, but Genesis's teleportation and sporadic future telling patterns? Completely odd, and this isn't even taking into consideration her vocal cords!"

"Wait, what's wrong with her vocal cords?" Sparx asked confused.

"Nothing!" Gibson yelled, "I have been able to find nothing wrong with them. As far as I can tell, they are perfectly normal, and should be functioning."

"Are you saying that the little Princess can talk, she just isn't?" Sparx asked cautiously as Gibson shook his head.

"I don't know what I'm saying. But that still isn't the oddest thing about her."

Sparx waited for him to continue. "When Gidget's arm was destroyed and we had to replace it, her metal was identical to ours and I though nothing of it. But when I went to get a sample of Genesis's, I noticed that it is made out an alloy that isn't even native to Shugazoom or any of the neighboring planets."

"How is that even possible?" Sparx gasped while glancing quickly to Genesis.

"The same way her unexplained powers, fully functioning vocal cords and the fact that she is smaller than the rest of us is." Gibson said as he shook his head. "I simply do not know. The fact that most of our memories from before we woke up are gone, does not help. There isn't even a way to confirm or disprove any of this!" Sparx and Gibson went silent as they stared at the girl floating peacefully in the tube.

"This is crazy." Sparx breathed while shaking his head. "I mean, the fact that two robotic monkeys which are almost identical to us is crazy, but now you're saying that one of them has all this weird stuff about her that we can't explain?"

Gibson nodded, "And since neither one of them supposedly remember their past, we cannot ask them about either."

"Well Gidget said that she was starting to get flashes of memory." Sparx stated off handedly.

"Well once again that is something that I can't explain about Genesis." Gibson said plainly as Sparx turned around shocked. "I can find no neurological damage to Genesis. We know that Gidget has blocks up to prevent us and her from seeing, but she never said Genesis did."

"Do you think she's hiding stuff from us?" Sparx asked before shaking his head. "No, Antauri would have noticed."

"Would he?" Gibson inquired. "As far as I've been able to tell, he tried to see Gidget's memories, but he never tried that with Genesis." Sparx looked between Gibson and Genesis.

"I can't believe that a little girl would be hiding all this from us!" Sparx gasped.

"'Little' is correct. 'Young' is what I'm not so sure about." Gibson's look hardened. "I have always thought her much too mature to be younger than Gidget." Sparx grabbed his head in frustration.

"So what should we do?" He finally asked Gibson. "Should we tell the others, question Gidget, question Geni?" Gibson shook his head.

"I don't want to inform the others till we can gain more information or at least find away to maybe get more. They are already untrusting of Gidget, we don't need them to be more upset than they already are. Besides, she might not know anything about why Genesis is being so evasive. Gidget could be getting fooled just like the rest of us."

"So we shouldn't even tell Antauri?" Sparx asked as Gibson shook his head.

"I honestly don't think he would believe us. She plays a little girl very convincingly."

"Or she really is one and we're jumping to conclusions."

"Exactly, we don't need to drag to others into our conspiracy theories until we know for sure."

"So we just act like everything is normal?" Sparx asked while scratching his head. Gibson nodded. "Okay, fine I guess. Well I'm gonna go see how the rest of the team is doing. See if you can figure anything else…odd about Geni." He looked towards the small brown monkey as he finally left the med lab.

Gibson turned back to his work, typing on computers while scribbling notes on his clip board. As he got deeper and deeper into his work, he displaced Genesis from his mind, so he didn't notice as she slowly re-closed her barely opened eyes as Sparx left.

.:~::~:.

_Fire wrapped around her. The smell of burning wood and flesh hung heavy in the air as she trudged through the little village. Screams of the wounded echoed through the destroyed camp as she walked past the bodies. _

_The sound of a child crying was heard as she slogged past a burning hut. She stopped to listen, suddenly the scream was cut off by one of her teammates and she continued on her walk. As she moved a piece of smoking wood with her foot, she revealed the body of a young boy. _

_He must have been a teenager in his species, his dark purple skin reflected the firelight dully as his blue hair was ruffed by the breeze. Suddenly he opened his brown eyes and looked directly at her, pleading. _

"Help me…" _He whispered quietly as he reached for her leg. She kicked his hand away and brought the barrel of her gun to his head. His eyes grew wide as he looked from the gun to her and back again. Gidget's face remained straight and emotionless as she pulled the trigger and fired on the helpless boy. _

Gidget opened her eyes and leaned her head back against the cold metal of the wall. She sighed deeply while rubbing her eyes with the ball of her hands. She then looked around the silent storage area as she brought her knees up to her chest. For hours she had been sitting in the room, exploring the hole made in her mental block.

She could see her past now, and the more she looked, the more she hated herself and the things she had done. She rested her chin on her knees, exhausted from looking at her past. She had a dim feeling that someone was looking for her in the Robot, but she didn't really feel like being found yet.

After a few minutes of rest, she returned to the mediation position Antauri had taught her. Taking a few deep breaths and opening her eyes, she found herself in a empty room that stretched from miles all around, except for the white marble wall that laid directly in front of her. It was long and eternally tall, she could see no end to it in sight, but she was not interested in how big it was.

There was a deep and dark crack that ran through it, big enough to look through, but not to step through. She clinched her shaking fists as she walked closer to the wall. She placed both hands on either side of the large crack, metal touching cool stone. She took a deep breath before placing her face to the hole once again, and seeing what memories there were to be seen.

* * *

Well this chapter took a completely different turn from what I envisioned. But that's actually a good thing, it's really setting up Book 2, which is coming after...2 more episodes I believe. Now let's see if I have what it takes to finish Book 1 and Book 0 by the end of the Summer. I would love to get a good start on 2 but small goals work better.

Please review, it really does motivate me and makes me work faster!


	25. Episode 54: Turning Back End

I return from the dead once more! Explanation at the end of chapter. In the mean time enjoy the conclusion to the latest and longest lasting episode, "Turning Back".

* * *

Cheering and singing could be heard in the streets of Shugazoom that night, the celebration lasting into the wee hours of the morning. But as the sun just started to set and the celebrating really got under way, a green monkey could be seen sitting atop the shoulder of a metal man rather melancholy.

He cupped his face in his hands and he watched the people move around on the ground like tiny insects scurrying about. If the breeze was just right, their calls and cheers were brought up to his ear receptors, but not even the occasion for celebrating Skeleton King's demise could cheer Otto up.

"I just don't…" He started to speak out loud before trailing off again. He had been out here for over an hour trying to get the words out, but they keep getting stuck in-between his brain and his mouth.

"How could she have…Why would she have…" he jumped up and faced the Super Robot, distress clear on his face. "Why did she do that?" He finally was able to ask, and after that the words quickly tumbled out. "She could have really hurt someone or herself the way she was acting, I mean, she almost did hurt Geni and she never even seemed sorry about it!" he rambled on, walking around in circles and waving his hands about.

"Okay she seemed a little sorry when we started acting normal but it's still just not okay!" Otto huffed exhausted at he sat back down on the edge. He rubbed his face with his paws wearily. "I just don't know what to think anymore." He sighed defeated.

"Perhaps you should just stop thinking then." Antauri said quietly as he walked towards Otto. The green monkey turned around sadly and looked at the silver simian with tired, black eyes.

"That sounds like something Gibson would say to be mean." Otto sighed dejectedly, Antauri simply smiled though.

"I hardly meant it that way Otto," he smirked. "I simply meant you should stop over thinking it so much. You may jump to conclusions that later prove to be false, but only after many people are hurt in the process." His clear blue eyes met Otto's steadily before the mechanic looked away hastily.

"So just forgive and forget?" He asked as he stared back over the darkening horizon, the Shugazoomian Sun almost past the edge of the city.

"Don't you find It odd that when we are most in need of comfort, we often migrate to the Robot's shoulder for support?" Antauri asked suddenly. Otto looked at him confused of the sudden topic change but answered truthfully.

"No, not really."

"Oh? Do you never ponder why we do that?"

"No because I know he's listening, I think we all know that now."

"Now?" the silver sapient echoed with a grin.

"Yeah cause Gidg-" Otto caught himself and looked down as he finished. "Cause Gidget told us he did."

"So you trust her judgment on that?" He asked, hands casually held behind his back. "Then I suggest you try and trust her on her other decisions too, even if you did not like them. Wreck-less as they may have seemed at the time, according to the others testimony, she seemed sure she knew what she was doing."

Antauri approached Otto and laid a hand on his shoulder, "So put a little faith in your teammates, so that they may put faith in you too. A team is nothing if they do not trust each other, and Gidget's heart is pure, I can see that. She is truly sorry for her actions and if you would seek her out you would see how sorrowful she is over her behavior and she would be glad to tell you this and apologize herself to you."

Otto smiled up at Antauri, "So you've already talked to her then?" He asked assuming he already knew the answer, but he was surprised as Antauri shook his head.

"No, but Sparks spoke to me about her, and he suggested we give her the support she needs to overcome this, lest the pain and hurt consumes her."

Otto looked between him and the horizon for a long time before standing up without a word and rushing toward the bridge. Antauri smiled after him as he rushed down the elevator before looking briefly at the Super Robot and then up towards the dark night sky.

.::~::.

Gidget gripped the side of the sink as she tilted her head back and hastily drunk a glass of juice. The glass let out a loud clink as she set is harshly down on the counter and grabbed her throbbing head. She clutched the kitchen counter tightly as she steadied herself. Trying to retrieve her memories was a lot harder than she thought it was going to be, and was taking a lot more out of her, the headache she was currently nursing proved that. Maybe Gibson would have something to help her out with it.

That is if he was willing to talk to her in the first place. With heavy feet and a heavier heart, she left the Kitchen for the Med lab, and almost ran into Otto as he jumped out of his green tube.

They hurriedly scrambled back from each other, mixed feelings of relief and worry flashed across both their faces as they finally settled on uneasy smiles and an awkward distance from each other.

"Hi…" They said in unison, nervousness creeping in-between them. The couple looked everywhere but each other as Otto fiddled his fingers and Gidget turned her full attention to her tail.

"Have you seen the rest of the team?" Otto asked suddenly to fill the silence.

"Yeah I saw em head outside to celebrate." Gidget said slowly as she rubbed her arms. In truth, she had hidden as they went outside to celebrate, she was not in the mood to deal with the team in more than one on one time just yet.

The eerie quiet took its place in-between them again, the distance growing around them with each passing second. Just when it seemed they would break and leave it at that, they both started talking.

"Look I'm-" They caught themselves once again and the quiet settled. The identical awkward blush crept along their faces as they made brief eye contact before Gidget looked away. Otto suddenly looked at her sadly, maybe things would never really be the same after all…

Suddenly, Otto's face contorted into grim determination as Gidget began speaking once again.

"Look Otto I neve-" She was cut short as the green monkey wrapped his arms around her in a hug. After a full moment of shock and hesitation she quickly returned the hug tightly while both began chattering at the same time. "I should have paid more attention to what-"

"I didn't give you the support you needed-" Otto gabbed as he clutched her tighter.

"I was doing and been more concerned for everyone's safety-" Gidget said as she started to pull back from Otto.

"But I was just so mad and mean and-" He stated firmly, placing his hands on her shaking shoulders.

"I just acted like a big jerk and I'm sorry." they finished at the same time. They blinked in surprise as identical smiles spread across their faces. Tears appeared in Gidget's eyes as she took both of Otto's hands in hers.

"I am so sorry Otto, I really mean it, what I did was practically unforgivable."

"No, no, no! I should have been more understanding, none of us were acting normal and you're not any different. I'm sorry for being such a butt head." They held steady gazes, "Forgive me for being a bad teammate, and more importantly, a bad friend?"

Gidget blinked in shock, then released his hands to tap the side of her snout and she thought hard for a moment. "Okay, but only if you forgive me for being an even worse friend and teammate." A grin spread across her face.

"Deal." Otto replied with a smile as he stuck his hand out and Gidget happily accepted it. They shook firmly before they let their hands fall back to their sides and broad smiles covered their faces. "So where were you heading?"

Gidget's smile dropped slightly, "To the Med lab, I need something for the killer head ache I've developed from-" she bite her lip, scared to tell Otto about the visions. But one look at his worried face melted her concerns. There's was no point in keeping things from the team, that would only lead to more pain later on. Even if she was afraid of their reactions. Taking a deep breath, she continued unsteadily. "From these flashes of memory I've been getting."

Otto blinked at her in surprise, "You've been getting flashes of…" He echoed softly before gasping. "Wait you're memory is coming back?" Gidget just nodded slowly as Otto whistled. "So what have you seen so far?"

Gidget looked at him sadly, "A lot of…bad stuff mostly." She answered halted. Otto looked confused but Gidget just shook her head, "Don't worry I'm gonna give the whole team the down low once the memories become more coherent but trust me for now that you do not wanna know just yet."

"Okay, I trust you." Otto said simply as he smiled. "So do you know anymore about where you came from, or anything from right before you landed here?" Gidget shook her head again.

"Not yet that I can tell, it seems we traveled quite a bit, but maybe there was a base somewhere?" She said with a shrug.

"'We'?" Otto echoed "What do you mean-"

"There you are Gidget!" Gibson suddenly said as he stood in the entrance to the Med lab. "I've been waiting for you to get up here."

"You have?" Gidget asked worriedly. She took a step behind Otto, half expecting Gibson to tell her off.

"Of course! I have to know more about the program you wrote for the nanobots and I still haven't scanned you to make sure that you are okay after the fight."

"My program?" She asked confused, "Okay sure." She said as she walked towards him nervously. He raised an eyebrow before a small smile crossed his face.

"You can relax Gidget, as I have already explained to someone else today, I will reserve judgment about what happened to us over the course of the last few days till I know more about our condition myself." Gidget blinked in surprise.

"So… you're not mad at me?"

"Hardly! I'm far more intrigued by whatever you did to design that complicated of a program that quickly. It's very impressive." Gibson grinned. "Now if you would please follow me so we can make sure you're okay…" he spread his arms behind him and moved to the side so she could enter the Med lab. Gidget grinned as she stepped inside.

"It really wasn't that hard, I know a short cut program that I used as a basis to make the main program…" She stopped and looked back at Otto. "You coming with us?"

But the green monkey surprisingly shook his head, "Naw I have something else to check out first. See ya guys later!" He called as he rushed to his tube. Something was seriously bothering him, and had been for months now. And he just had to check it out…

.::~::.

Loud clangs and clunks could be heard coming from Otto's workshop. He pushed blue prints back, found wrenches and ratchets and quickly tossed them over his shoulder. He found saws, wielding tools, everything he would need to take something apart.

He tossed the items he was using on to a large, blue tarp and dragged them behind him into the attached garage where the smaller vehicles were stored. He passed the moon rovers, hover cars, and even the experimental sub he was working on and into the darkest corner of the shop. He flipped on a few flood lights hanging about and illuminated the melted hunk of metal that Gidget had crashed into Shugazoom what seemed like years ago.

He went back to his tarp and grabbed a wielder and mask. Quickly hooking it up to a nearby gas canister, he flipped the mask down as he lit wielder and approached the mangled wreck that had somehow survived the crash. He wasn't sure what, who, or where Gidget was before she got here, but he was determined to pull every single bit of information he could out of this scrap metal to find out.

The flame hissed as he began cutting into the wreckage and a sweat broke upon his brow, a look of grime determination plastered on his face.

* * *

Right so I guess one of the biggest questions is where have I been for the last half of a year or so. Heck, I don't even know if my old fans are still around or if any of the new ones are interested in this story any more, but hey I own you guys an explanation regardless.

Well basically, I got distracted with a multitude of things, mostly my boyfriend over the summer. Then school started back and in the middle of October I had a huge desire to write again, and I promised myself I would as soon as my paper for my Psychology class was done, since it was our whole grade in that class. And so I set out one night to write the rough draft, got most of it done and then turned off my computer and went to sleep. And in true form as a text book example of Murphy's Law, the next morning it would not turn on.

My power source had broken and there was no way to fix it, so for two months I have been computer hopping and waiting for Christmas to roll around to get a new one. Lucky, my work was saved so I didn't have to start completely from scratch but going back and rereading work from 6 months ago...I had some changes to say the least. Not to mention there are some changes I want to make to the upcoming story, but I'm not quite sure how to work them in without rearranging the complete structure of it.

BUT I am back, school will start again in 2 weeks but i'm hoping to get more writing done for most of my stories, or at least a script or outline so i can get through them faster. Like I said from the beginning, I want this to be a good story, but there is defiantly some work to get done if I don't want it to become stale and cliched.

Tl;dr version: This is still alive, no worries and I really am hoping to get more work done for you guys. This is a story I want to finish and I will, I'm not sure how long it will take me but i'm setting a new goal for me right now: Book 2 will be complete by this time next year.

So stay tuned kiddies! I'll get through this yet, so buckle up and try to enjoy the ride.


	26. Episode 55: Dream Weaver

And like I said I would do in a huge 3 paragraph explanation back on the newly re-written Chapter 1, here is a brand new chapter and the start of a new episode. If you don't want to go back and read the full story the basic premise is this; I want to finish this fic once and for all, no more excuses and no more slacking off. So this year I'm gonna get it done, all 3 books (Yes this is gonna be that long of a story). The outlines for the end of Book 1 and all of Book 2 are done along with the last 4 chapters of Book 0 so I'm super serious about this. I know where I want to go with this story and how I want to get there, it's just a matter of actually typing out now. Ideally I'm gonna get out one chapter a week, though we would barely finish book 2 at that pace so hopefully during the summer I'll be able to get more chapters out quickly. It's not really a matter of me having trouble writing, I just don't want to post chapters as soon as I write them. It is better to sit on them for a while before you get them out, this chapter I've been working on for about a week now. So wish me luck and let's start getting closer to the end of this long overdue story.

Oh, I also went back and re-edited the first 13 chapters so that they are better written, more cohesive, less silly/stupid and a few things are retconned. You don't have to have re-read the first 13 chapters to get the story now, but I kinda figured if I was gonna finish this story up, that means getting a bunch of new readers on board (considering I don't even know if any of the original readers are still around) and I really needed to fix the rocky beginning to make that happen. This story has something like a 60% drop rate after the first chapter currently, yikes.

So without further ado, here is Episode 55.

* * *

Chiro ran as fast as he could, they were hot on his trail and gaining ground. He tried to find an alleyway to duck into, maybe to try and lose them by weaving in and out of buildings, but the city was dark and long abandoned and all the side streets boarded up. Every building he raced by looked down on him with dark windows that seemed like glaring eyes. His lungs burned sharply from inhaling the cold, night air and he could hear the blood rushing through his ears as he struggled to stay ahead of the pack. The now all too familiar Slap Clunk sound of their appendages hitting the concert as they chased him echoed off the empty city walls, and all the while seemed to be getting closer and closer with every step he took. Eerie echoes of malevolent laughter made it seem like they were always right behind him, and this thought only made Chiro want to run away faster.

He ran through what probably had been the downtown area of the city, filled with tall, metal buildings that used to look modern with all their glass and windows and beautiful when the sun hit it, but Chiro suspected that the sun had not been in this place of death for a long, long time. He passed long forgotten shops and restaurants, unkempt and dead parks, and squat, brick buildings that had once been a center of learning for generations upon generations. And finally he passed into what had been a residential area, filled with broken down apartment complexes and townhouses, not a soul in sight as he ran on, stomping through the overgrown weeds with his worn sneakers.

Suddenly he saw it, an open doorway that revealed a dark void, and his chance to escape. He dove up the stoop, going into a somersault as he rolled through the entryway and slammed the door behind him in one quick motion. As he clicked the lock in place, he felt the door shake tremendously as the beasts slammed into the other side of it. They let out a flurry of inhuman growls and fists that beat upon the door, making it rattle in its frame. Deciding to not be around when they finally managed to break through, and after he had pushed a heavy table in front of the door for good measure, he quickly turned on his heel and ran up the stairs to the second landing, hoping to find a window to crawl out of and finally escape these horrid creatures.

As he rounded the banister and officially made it to the second floor though, he was greeted by an unexpected sight; a door at the other end of the hall was left open just a crack and soft, white light spilt out into the passageway. Intrigued and momentarily forgetting the danger lurking outside, Chiro proceeded to slowly make his way down the uncannily familiar hallway.

With each step the feeling of wrongness rose within him, but unable to stop, the young boy continued on down the hall. As he reached the door and pushed against it, he suddenly realized why this building seemed so familiar and was frozen in terror, unable to stop the chain of events he had triggered.

As the door slowly opened fully and then banged softly against the opposing wall, Chiro stood in shock as a five-year old him happily played on the old blue rug that had dominated the room when he was younger. Chiro watched in horror as both his mother and his father entered the room and sat down to play with their young son, unaware of the impossible visitor watching them from the doorway.

He observed as his dad acted out a scene from their favorite episode of The Sun Riders with the new toys they had bought him just days before, and was vaguely aware of the sound of a phone ringing somewhere in the house. As it donned on him what this phone call signified, Chiro rushed forward, trying to stop his father from answering the call that would forever take him from his life.

"No!" He screamed and ran towards the trio, but just as Chiro reached the memory of his younger self, all three apparitions disappeared like wisps of smoke and were replaced by visions of fire. Except, this vision burnt his eyes and Chiro had to bend down to breathe without inhaling another lungful of smoke as he realized his childhood bedroom was now engulfed in hot flames.

As he burst into a fit of coughing and tears seeped out of his eyes, he heard the sound he dreaded the most at the moment: wood splintering. He frantically searched for a way out of the room as the sound of footsteps trampled up the stairs and five figures blocked his way to escape the inferno.

"No more running, now." One of the figures stated as the rest broke out into a fit of sick laughter and seemed to transform their hands as they spread out into the room. Chiro gasped and fell to his knees, unable to breathe or move in the smoky room, as the five figures stepped through the haze to reveal themselves to be the techni-colored monkeys he knew so well, each in their red, yellow, black, blue and green fur. "No more running ever again." The black one finished as they all pounced on the defenseless boy and he screamed in terror…

And jolted himself awake as he shot straight up in bed. Chiro looked around his room in confusion a few moments, trying to regain his bearings and breath as he finally realized he was safe and sound in his own bed in the Super Robot. He expelled a sigh of relief as he flopped back down on his pillow and laid his arm over his eyes.

"That's the third time this week I've had a nightmare." He said to no one in particular as he rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands, nursing the all too familiar spike of pain that seemed to drill into his head and accompany each of these dreams after he had woken up. "And that's not even how it happened, I didn't even know the team when I lost dad." He huffed as the memories of the dream disappeared like wisps of mist and were replaced with a dull feeling of discomfort.

"Maybe I should go see Gibson in the morning." Chiro continued his thoughts out loud as he pulled his covers back up to his chin and tried to get comfortable once again. "He can do some brain scans on me and look at the data and try to figure out way I'm having these dreams. Then he can hopefully tell me what's wrong with my head." He sighed heavily as he pulled the covers up over his face, already forgetting the details of the dream.

"And if all else fails, I can just ask him to hack it off completely."

* * *

Remember when I said Book 0 is going to play into the events of Book 1? Yeah this is only a small portion of that, if you want to know more you can go read Book 0, but you don't have to know the details of that event to enjoy Book 1. I suppose you really don't have to read Book 0 at all to understand Book 1 though, it's more just there to give more back story to Chiro and the team so read it you want, but you don't have to. (It's not very good right now, I need to re-write it like I did Book 1 but oh geez I don't wanna do that yet.)


	27. Episode 55: Dream Weaver Part 2

And on with the ridiculously long 2nd part of this chapter. Fun Fact: I originally wrote the following scene as the introduction to the next Episode, had it uploaded and ready to go as the teaser and everything, but thought it too long to use and couldn't transition it properly to make it fit in the episode. But I still really liked having a discussion between these two characters and didn't want to get rid of it completely, so what do I do? Write a whole new chapter on the fly of course!

Though this was added at the last second, I actually do really like this chapter because several things get discussed and we get a better look at some different relationships that haven't gotten a lot of focus yet, in this fic or in the show itself (I'm looking at you Gibson and Chiro). So enjoy!

* * *

"Come on, just do it."

"I'm really not sure about this, What if I hurt you?"

"Then you can tell Gibson I told you to do when you drag my body into the Med bay, now hurry up and shoot me."

"Nova, I'm really not sure about this…" The purple monkey fretted as she fiddled with the end of her tail and tried to avoid her yellow friend's gaze. "I mean we don't know how powerful this substance is yet, what if it's actually acidic to our skin or something?"

Nova rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "All the more reason to test it in a safe environment before we get out on the field and you accidentally shoot someone with it." She explained as Gidget was still reluctant to transform her weapon. "Besides, I thought this new ammo was just supposed to launch like a capsule of that sticky gunk you, Otto and Gibson have been working on. You know, something kinda like that gooey stuff that the Formless use to shoot at us?"

Gidget rubbed the back of her head before answering, "Yeah but it's not like any of that stuff was still lying around after a month for us to really check it out, we kinda just made our own concoction for this bomb. I don't really feel safe just shooting it at you when we still don't know if it will even work yet."

"If you don't think it will work, then I don't know why you are hesitating to shoot me." Nova countered while Gidget sighed loudly. "Besides you forget the other reason we woke up at the crack of dawn this morning, you asked me to help you train and get stronger your second night here, I'm finally fulfilling my promise and helping you out at the same time by being a test monkey for your new weapon." Nova smirked while placing her hands on her hips. "Just cause we finally managed to get rid of Skeleton King doesn't mean we can let our guard down and never practice. There is still a lot of evil out there in the universe and we have to be prepared to handle anything. Who knows when we might need to disable an enemy instead of destroying them?"

"Do you really think we defeated him, like once and for all?" Gidget asked as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Mean I know it's been like a month since we last saw him fall into the ocean, but if the stories I hear are true, it seems like it would take a lot more than that to finally beat him." Gidget shivered at the thought of the last time they had encountered the Skeleton King.

The team had discussed what happened in their last battle and determined that it had been because of the virus that their behavior had changed so suddenly and erratically. They had been forced to behave opposite of their normal dispositions and not their true natures, as Skeleton King had suggested, but Gidget still did not like to remember how she had almost gotten Genesis killed or the thoughts that had run through her mind while she was under the influence of the virus. She knew the team had forgiven her, and she was slowly starting to reveal what she had dared to remember about her past, but she was uneasy with discussing the details and possible ramifications of what she had done before meeting the team, and no one else was jumping at the opportunity to ask her about it. Not to mention she had not even tried to regain anymore of her memories since the first few times she had tried when she discovered how to breach the memory block she had put up, so really there was not much to tell yet.

Nova sighed loudly and brought Gidget back out of her thoughts, "Guess we really don't know yet, no." She admitted while rubbing the back of her head. "But since we haven't heard from him in a month, I would like to believe we did defeat him. If just for a little while longer, okay?" She admitted with a weak smile. "Besides that means we have all the more reason to try your new weapons and always stay ready, just in case he really does come back from the dead. Again." She finished with a heavy sigh and eye roll. "So what do you say, shoot me already will ya?" She finished with grin and got into a battle stance. Gidget finally gave in and transformed her hand into her Giga gun.

"After we test this out and make sure this doesn't kill you, I really need to look into redesigning my gun to make it more efficient to change the ammo out." Gidget admitted as she had to take the time to open the compartment on the underside of her gun, revealing a small arsenal of different ammunition, and pick out the new orbs.

"Hey now, I'm an expert in battle maneuvers." Nova reminded her while holding her hands up. "Upgrading your weapon is something you're gonna have to talk to Otto about, not me. Now remember, this is a training exercise so I am going try to dodged your attacks." Nova said as she hopped from one foot to the other. "I don't want to see you holding back because you're scared, really try to attack me now, I'm gonna try and hit you too."

Gidget nodded as she took the stance Nova had shown her earlier where she spread her feet shoulder length apart and only aimed one gun while keeping her other arm transformed but in a much more defensive position.

"Okay ready." Gidget said as she aimed her gun at Nova, then put it back down. "You're sure about this?" She asked one last time while Nova rolled her eyes.

"Yes I am 100% sure. Now come on, we're burning florescent light here." Nova said while transforming her hands. "Now on my count, 1…2…3 Go!" She yelled as Gidget shot, but aimed for Nova's leg. A green orb about as big as her fist flew from the barrel and towards her yellow companion, but Nova rolled out-of-the-way in time and the orb exploded on the floor, harmlessly. Lime green slime bursted out of the capsule and covered the floor. "Hey now we're sure it at least works." Nova pointed out while laughing.

"Maybe you can just go stick your foot in it now and we can see if it kills you or anything." Gidget suggested with a half-smile while Nova shook her head.

"Nope, I told you that was only half of the point of this exercise, I'm also helping you to learn to fight, so I wanna see you try to really hit me." Nova smiled and held up her fists. "Don't make me have to give you a reason to want to." She warned.

Gidget sighed melodramatically, "But why would I want to hurt you? You are pretty much one of the last people in the universe I would want to upset again. I practically feared for my life the last time I got on your bad side." Gidget teased.

It was Nova's turn to huff, "I was not that bad." She placed her hands on her hips in defiance and looked at Gidget who only smiled in return. "Now quit stalling and get to fighting, you count us off this time." Gidget sighed but got back into position.

"Okay then, 1…2…3 Go!" Gidget yelled as she fired, Nova skimming around the bullet yet again and this time running straight towards Gidget with her fist raised.

"Fight or Flight!" Nova yelled as she got closer to Gidget. "Choose now!" She pulled her fist back and jumped as Gidget squeaked in surprised and quickly fell back as Nova flew over head and just missed hitting her.

"Hey!" Gidget yelled as she rolled out-of-the-way and Nova landed a few feet behind her.

"I gave you full warning." Nova stood up and turned on Gidget. "You have to learn how to defend yourself out there, Gidg." She flexed her fist while Gidget got back up into a standing position. "It's not a game out there." Nova reminded her while rushing forward with her fists drawn again. "The enemies won't be pulling punches." Nova said as she sent a left upper cut at Gidget, who barely managed to step back in time to avoid it. "And you can't run forever." A right hook went flying for her side as Gidget sidestepped quickly. "What if we aren't there to save you like that time you were cornered by Mandarin?" Nova asked as she tried to wrap her tail around Gidget's leg to trip her, but the violet monkey jumped up and avoided the attack. "You cannot just dodge and jump out-of-the-way when enemies will be trying to kill you-"

"Enough!" Gidget shouted as she swung her gun up to block a punch. "I know, okay?" She snapped as she and Nova were locked in combat, both trying to push the other back. "I know I'm weak and defenseless, you don't have to keep reminding me!"

"You are neither, Gidget." Nova said calmly as she leaned forward, both girls forehead to forehead now. "You are strong and clever; you are just so scared of hurting others that you don't worry about protecting yourself. Stop being afraid and attack me already!" Nova gritted her teeth and gave Gidget one strong, hard push backwards. Gidget stumbled momentarily but managed to regain her balance quicker than Nova had anticipated.

"Fine!" Gidget shouted as she locked her sites on Nova and pulled the trigger. The orb quickly closed the short distance between the two girls and struck Nova square in the chest as she fell forward, the wind knocked out of her. Gidget gasped, hands cupped to her mouth, and ran to her friend's side. "Oh jeez, Nova are you okay?" She gasped as she fell her knees and placed a caring hand on Nova's back.

"Now we're talking!" Nova cheered after finally getting a few breaths in and giving Gidget thumbs up. "But I thought this stuff was supposed to spread out more." Nova pointed to her midsection which was covered in the green slime, but had failed to go anywhere else.

"It is," Gidget admitted while helping Nova to her feet. "I guess I could fill the bombs up some more, that might help it spread out better upon impact. Of course ideally it will be hitting feet or hands and sticking people in place, not on chests and just making a mess." She laughed as Nova set a hand on her stomach and wasn't able to remove it.

"Well I guess it will be useful for that then." As she struggled to pull her hand free. "Now we just have one more important question to answer:

"Have you made something to get this stuff off yet?"

.::~::.

Chiro knocked on the door frame as he entered the Med Lab, bringing Gibson's attention away from the scanner he had been looking at. "Morning Gibson, you got a minute?"

"Oh, hello Chiro," Gibson answered as he sat down the device and turned to face his leader. "Why yes, I do believe I could spare a few minutes from that riveting paper I was just reading on Gunthurian bacteria and give it to you." Gibson smiled but when Chiro gave him an aside look, he quickly dropped it. "That was a joke. Of course I have time to try and help you in any way I can."

"Oh, good." Chiro perked up a little as he walked towards the cerulean scientist. "Well you see, I've had some really bad nightmares this past month, I've had 3 this week alone." Chiro explained as Gibson nodded, intrigued. "And well, I probably wouldn't come to you with this except for the fact I get these really bad headaches after each one. I was wondering if you had anything I could take that would help me sleep through the night or at least help me get rid of the headaches?" Chiro asked as Gibson tapped his chin.

"Hmm I might, but I'm going to need and do a few scans first to make sure that there is not a more serious, underlying problem here other than some bad dreams." Gibson explained as he patted one of the examination tables and Chiro hopped up on it. "This shouldn't take too long though, I should be able to determine if there is anything major causing this by the afternoon and get the results back to you with some medication by tonight." Chiro nodded as he laid down on the table and Gibson started the machine to give him the scan. As the red beam began to slowly to crawl over him, Chiro turned his attention back to the small device Gibson had been reading when he had walked in.

"Were you really reading about Gunth-whatevers when I came in?" Chiro asked as Gibson gave a small chuckle.

"Ah no, that was part of the joke." He explained while typing instructions down on the computer. "You see at my alma mater, all the students in my program had this joke that we were all going to do a post-doctoral fellowship on Gunthurian wildlife. We had a professor who was absolutely fascinated by the creatures, claimed that they were the key to making the next miracle drug." Gibson recounted as he turned back around and leaned against the computer, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Was he right?" Chiro asked as Gibson smiled even wider.

"Nope, completely wrong!" He laughed while shaking his head. "Brilliant man, but nuttier than a jar of almonds. He tried to prove his theory by testing the bacteria on himself, ended up in the hospital for two weeks." He chuckled while reminiscing. "He was perfectly fine, just had problems passing regular bowel movements and had to have a complete detox of his system. My colleagues and I laughed for weeks over it." Chiro joined in the laughter as Gibson's tapered off into a sigh. "Never did finish that doctorate though, would be introducing myself as 'Dr. Hal Gibson, but just call me Gibson', if I had."

"Well I guess you could complete it now," Chiro pointed out as the computer dinged, signaling his scan was complete. "If you wanted to, that is." Gibson gave a short head nod as a response as Chiro sat up.

"I suppose I could, assuming it was really safe to leave Shugazoom." Gibson stated without saying what he really meant, like discussing Him would jinx them, but looked at Chiro over the bridge of his nose. "But you didn't ask what I was really looking at when you walked in."

"What were you looking at then?" Chiro swung his legs over the side of the table as Gibson sighed heavily and picked up the device from the counter.

"I was actually comparing scans of the Shugazoom Ocean now, with water samples I had taken back oh…about a year ago I suppose, when the city was flooded." Gibson explained as it was Chiro's turn to nod in agreement.

"When those monsters had eaten the pillars, yeah." He remembered. "So what did you find out then?" Chiro asked as he leaned back on the examination table.

"Well to be honest, not much yet." Gibson said as he sighed and rubbed his head. "Though to be fair, I don't have any water samples from when it is normal, it was just something I never thought to get, I suppose." Gibson admitted. "I guess it could just be paranoia, but while I had joined in the celebrations when Skeleton King fell in the water, I'm starting to doubt that we really defeated him."

"But everything has been quiet the past month." Chiro said, the desperation for it all to really be over heavy in his voice. "We are just about to approve all the forces we called here to go on home and have started looking into getting the people who want to stay integrated into the city." He ran both his hand through his hair in frustration. "I mean I know that stuff isn't as exciting as saving the universe, but it finally feels like we are getting a break here."

"And that is what worries me, Chiro." Gibson crossed his arms. "We might be prematurely letting our guard down, what if all this is just a plan from Skeleton King to-"

"Enough!" Chiro suddenly snapped, shocking Gibson into silence. He took a moment to collect himself, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke. "I'm sorry for yelling Gibson, it's just that for once, _for once_," He emphasized, "I would like to just have won. No strings attached, no bigger monsters looming on the horizon, no loose ends coming to wreck the city. And I would really like to think we've finally done that now." He pleaded to the blue monkey, pacing around the room. "I mean wouldn't be nice if we could finally move on? Start living normal lives? Don't I deserve a chance to actually enjoy being a kid before I'm completely grown?" Chiro looked back at Gibson who only shrugged.

"I wouldn't know, no one on the team has ever had a typical adolescence, at least certainly not one for a primate. There really is no 'normal' for us to return to." Gibson explained calmly while holding up a hand, stopping Chiro from protesting. "Now I am not blaming you, it is completely normal to want those things, nor am I lamenting my lost childhood. Frankly I'm glad I've never had to experience the' awkward teenage years' and am glad we sped through them. But I do understand why you want them, and I wish with all my being that we could let you have that but…" He sighed and rubbed the back of his head before finishing. "I just want to make sure that this time we really were able to defeat him, once and for all."

Chiro sighed and placed a hand over his mouth, but nodded. "Okay, okay fine. If you feel like you need to have an expedition into the great blue yonder then have it. But you can count me-"

"GIBSOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Gidget yelled, rushing into the Medical Lab with Nova leaning heavily on one shoulder. "We need heeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" She drug out the word as Gibson rushed towards them.

"Gidget what in the world is wrong?" Gibson asked as he tried to get a better look at Nova, who was doubled over.

"Well me and Nova were testing the Goo Slew, and she told me to shoot her even though I told her I didn't know if it was dangerous or not, and we tried to pull it off and well, well-" Gidget tried to rush out an explanation as Nova finally lifted her head and wailed:

"And I ripped all the fur off my stomach!" She quickly stood up and moved her hand to reveal a rounded bald spot, a bit larger than the circumference of her hand, at her waist line. Chiro had to stifle a laugh while Gibson looked at the bare skin, Gidget looked worriedly over his shoulder, and Nova was too upset to even glare at Chiro.

"Do you have some ointment we can rub on it to make the pain go away?" Gidget questioned Gibson as he motioned for Nova to sit down on the examination table.

"Forget the ointment; I just want something to make the hair grow back now!" Nova snapped as she jumped up on the table. "If Sparx gets wind of this I will literally have to kill him to make him shut up about it." She lamented as Gibson sighed and rubbed his chin,

"I know of no medication that will help you grow the hair back that quickly." Gibson sighed as he shook his head. "But I could simply wrap up your stomach with a bandage and claim you injured it while working out, that way no one has to know the hair is growing back out, besides the people already in this room that is."

Nova thought about then nodded. "That will have to do, I guess." She sighed heavily while rubbing the bald spot on her stomach. "Though if any one of you breathes a word of this outside of this room, I will hunt you down in your sleep. Do you understand me?"

"Scout's honor to keep it quiet." Chiro said as seriously as he could while Nova rubbed her stomach sadly.

"Aw geez Nova, I'm so sorry." Gidget sighed as she placed her chin in her hands. "I wish there was someway to make it up to you."

"Making a gel or something we can use to remove this stuff next time without ripping out all my fur would be nice." Nova half-heartedly joked. "And you know, never mentioning this again would be great too."

"Done and done." Gidget nodded as she made a quick X motion across her chest. "Cross my heart. In fact I'll run down and talk to Otto about it now." Gidget said as she sprinted out of the room, then stuck her head back in again. "Keeping this business on the down low, of course." She reminded Nova before disappearing again from view and presumably down the hall.

"I kind of want to know what ridiculous story she's going to come up with to convince Otto he needs to stop working on salvaging their space ship long enough to help her make that." Chiro admitted with a laugh. "I don't think that poor guy has slept in weeks cause he's been so focused on getting information out of that thing."

"Well then he can join the club," Nova sighed as Gibson finished wrapping her up. "I know I keep getting woken up in the middle of the night by these horrible headaches and can hardly ever get to sleep afterwards." Gibson and Chiro both turned to her, shocked.

"Have you been having the nightmares too?" Chiro asked as Nova gave him a perplexed look.

"You know, now that you mention it, I kinda do remember having a weird dream last night." She thought about it while shaking her head. "But I don't know how that would cause a headache."

"Neither do I." Gibson agreed while tapping a finger on his chin. "But it does make me wonder if anyone else on the team is experiencing them."

"You haven't been?" Chiro asked as Gibson shook his head slowly. "Not exactly, or at least not recently. I have a faint impression that I had a few near the beginning of the month, but I haven't exactly been trying sleeping well lately, I've been so busy studying the water samples that I have been sleeping here in the med lab the past few nights. And while the examination tables do not make the best beds and give me one fine backache in the morning, I haven't been experiencing any dreams lately, nightmares or otherwise."

"Well how about we go ask the rest of the team if they have had any bad dreams?" Nova suggested. "Everyone experiencing nightmares kinda sounds like a plan from-"

"Don't." Chiro said shortly while lifting up his hand. Nova glanced over at Gibson, confused, but he just slowly shook his head, indicating her to drop it. "Let us figure out if anyone else is having these nightmares before we theorize anymore, for now let's go see if the rest of the team is having this problem."

.::~::.

"Nightmares and headaches?" Otto asked while he continued to work on the wrecked ship and Nova nodded in response. "I don't think so, but to be honest I haven't slept very much this week." Otto admitted while rubbing his tired looking eyes. "It's been a month and I still haven't gotten to the heart of this ship yet, I didn't know fire could destroy something this bad."

"Otto I've asked you at least a hundred times to take a break from this." Gidget scolded lightly while pouting a bit. "Absolutely nothing in there is important enough for you to obsess over it like this, not even me or Geni is this concerned about anything this hunk of metal will tell about us."

"What about you Gidget?" Nova asked while the violet monkey, turning her attention to her. "Have you been having any nightmares?" Gidget quickly shook her head.

"No." She answered quietly while fiddling with her tail.

"Dang." Nova said shortly while punching her fist into her palm and Otto and Gidget exchanged a glance. "Don't get me wrong, it's good that you guys haven't been having any, but that doesn't explain why me and Chiro are having them. This is beyond weird."

"Well you could go ask Lil' Sis and Antauri I guess." Otto suggested. "Though Antauri doesn't really sleep so I guess he wouldn't be having this problem." Otto continued as the obvious dawned on him and he used the ball of his hands to rub his eyes. "Ugh my brain is working even less than normal."

"That's it!" Gidget announced as she grabbed Otto by the hand and pulled him out of his workshop. "I'm putting you to bed this instant, if you can't be trusted to go to sleep on your own I guess I have to tuck you in like I do Geni when she doesn't want to obey bedtime."

"Aww but Gidget I think I'm about to make a break through with the ship!" Otto protested as Gidget dragged him out of the room.

"And it will still be here when you get back, after you've had some well-deserved rest." Gidget said defiantly as Otto gave in and allowed himself to be drug to his room and Nova couldn't help but smile at the two.

"I'm gonna go check and see if Geni has had any sleep trouble, okay Gidget?" She called as Gidget slowed down and stopped at the door.

"Yeah that's fine with me." She answered quickly without turning around, then continued on her way. Nova walked to the two sister's room and knocked on the door before letting herself in, it was not like she was going to get a response anyways.

"Hey Geni." Nova said as she entered and Genesis looked up with a smile and small wave. "What are you up to in here?" Geni held up a stuffed, pink dog she had been playing with. Nova had allowed Geni to borrow several of her stuffed dolls since she would have asked to come into Nova's room and play with them every day anyways, this took the middle man out of the equation.

"Oh Sirius, he's one of my favorites too." Nova said as she sat down and picked up a stuffed blue frog. "Hey, I have a question for you honey." Nova continued as Genesis's smile faded and she tilted her head in response but set down Sirius and reached for her drawing pad and pencil, which was never far from her side. "Have you been having headaches lately?" Nova asked carefully, not wanting to scare the little girl too much, as Geni quickly shook her head. "Okay well how about any…weird dreams?" Nova asked as this got a greater response from Genesis.

Her eyes widened as she quickly wrote: _What kind of dreams and Why?_ She held the pad out to Nova to read.

"Well like, scary ones. And cause some of the team has complained about nightmares so we were wondering if anyone else was having them." Nova continued while Genesis's eyes grew even wider and she quickly scribbled down new questions.

_Are you having these dreams? Is anyone else? What goes on in them?_ Nova blinked at the straightforwardness of the questions, but answered honestly.

"Yeah me and Chiro definitely are, and Gibson might have at the beginning of the month but not any more. And I don't really remember them all that well in the morning but I think last night I dreamed about getting chased." She leaned back on her hands while closing her eyes and concentrating. "Yeah I was chased through…well I think it was actually inside the Skeleton King worm. We've told you and Gidget about that, right?" Genesis quickly nodded and motioned for her to continue. "Well I think I was in that monster of all things, I actually think I was being chased by the team, except it wasn't exactly them. Like for some reason I wanna say that Antauri was actually in his old body, I don't know if we've told you that yet, he used to have this really pretty black fur coat and-" At this, Geni clamped her hands over her mouth before jumping up and running towards the door.

"Geni?" Nova asked as she quickly stood up. "What's wrong? Where are you going?" She asked as Genesis stopped long enough to write a hasty answer out on her notebook.

_We have to discuss this with the rest of the team, now. _

.::~::.

"Yeah I've had a couple of nightmares the past few nights, but I don't know what that has to do with anything, I've kinda been having nightmares for a long time now, like 'Object of Fire Incident' long." Sparx confirmed as he busied himself getting a snack in the kitchen. "But I mean, you don't really go through something like that and get over it in a few jam sessions between the team." Sparx looked at Chiro who nodded slowly.

"Yeah sorry about that Sparx." Chiro said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I know we said we would try to talk through that as a team. I guess we've kinda dropped the ball on that lately though." Sparx shrugged in response while leaning against the wall.

"Eh not your fault Kid, it's no one's in fact. It's not really a pleasant thing to keep bringing up so I don't blame you and the team for not being so hot on doing it every week. Heck at this point Giggles needs it more than me, but she's terrified of opening up to us." The red monkey pointed out while taking a sip of the can of soda in his hand. "But at the same time, you don't wanna push her and make her clam up more. It's a delicate process getting over something like that, or at least that's what Antauri keeps telling me, I don't know if I fully buy into all this humbo-gumbo feelings stuff yet."

"Well you know if you ever just wanna talk to someone I'm always here for you, even if the rest of the team doesn't want to, right?" Chiro asked while Sparx nodded and smiled.

"Don't worry kid, I know, but don't beat yourself up too much over me still having a few night terrors about it. In all honesty, this isn't likely something I will ever completely get over, it's more about earning the team's trust back, which I like to think I've done pretty good with so far." Sparx smiled proudly while placing the empty hand on his hip. "So who cares if I've had a few nightmares about you guys creating a lynch mob for me?"

"Lynch mob? Was this last night?" Chiro asked while Sparx slowly nodded.

"Yeah I guess that was last night, though I woke up pretty quickly from it cause I got a wicked headache." Sparx confirmed while Chiro bit his lip.

"You mean you had a dream about me and the rest of the team chasing you?"

"Well kinda but it's a bit sillier than that." Sparx admitted while setting his drink down on the counter. "You weren't there, and now that I think about it, it all seems so weird." He started to laugh as Chiro slowly realized something greater was going on here. "And that isn't the craziest part; I actually think I was chasing myself in this dream. I mean, how many other red, robotic monkeys do you know?"

"Geni wait!" Sparx and Chiro looked at each other momentarily before walking out of the kitchen to see Genesis rush into the control room with Nova right on her heels. "Geni hold on, what's going on?" Nova asked while stopping to catch her breath.

"Um guys, something up?" Chiro asked as Geni quickly started scribbling on her notebook.

"Team!" Gibson yelled as he walked into the control center with Antauri close behind him. "I thought I would ask Antauri if he knew anything about our predicament and he thinks he might actually have an explanation for all this."

"I have heard of something similar to this happening before, but I think the answer might surprise you." Antauri stated while placing his hands behind his back.

"I think the little princess might know too," Sparx pointed out while hooking a thumb at the small girl furiously scribbling. "I think she's writing a book about it right now."

"Genesis," Chiro asked while taking a knee and getting on her level. "Have you been having the dreams too?" She looked up a second to give a quick head nod before going back to writing. "Are you having the headaches then?" She didn't look this time up while shaking her head. "How can you be having the nightmares without the headaches?" Chiro asked her while looking at the rest of the team in confusion.

"Because it only hurts to mind-meld with someone the first few experiences, after you have completed the meld a few times, the pain disappears because a connection has already been made, correct?" Antauri asked while looking at Genesis who confirmed by looking over her notebook and nodding slowly.

"Okay I'm officially confused, What are you two talking about?" Nova asked while Genesis handed her the drawing pad to read and the team crowded around her shoulders to look for themselves.

_The dreams you are experiencing are not your own. Occasionally when a telepath has a particularly strong dream, it can subconsciously be transmuted to all in the immediate area. While I had the same dream last night, I was not affected by the same headaches as you because I have experienced this dream sharing several times before. Because the telepath having the nightmares, is my sister. _

The team shared a quick glance with each other as Gidget entered from the other side of the room, causing everyone to turn and look at her in silence. Gidget suddenly stopped mid-step and offered a blank stare.

"Sup everyone?" She asked with a nervous smile while Nova crossed her arms.

"So you haven't been having any nightmares, huh?" She asked slightly annoyed as Gidget sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh yeah, that." She nervously bit her lip while walking towards the rest of the team. "Okay I might have fibbed a bit about that, but it's cause I was hoping to get it under control before it go any worse!" She quickly explained.

"Gidget, we've had intense nightmares three times this week, I think it's at the worse point." Chiro pointed out while shrugging with his hands.

"Hey wait, my room is beside yours." Sparx thought for a minute. "Are you the reason I haven't been able to get a decent night's sleep in months? How long have you been having nightmares exactly?"

Gidget pushed her lips together before answer. "Since my first week here." She admitted while looking down at the ground and pulling her tail around to distract her hands. "But I didn't think I had transmitted them that much, honest! If I had known that you guys were getting them for the past month I would have spoken about it a lot sooner, I was just…nervous about it." She admitted finally while looking at her feet. "They don't exactly contain rainbows and sunshine."

"Gidget," Gibson finally spoke while crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why would you think we wouldn't want to know about this? If one of our teammates is struggling with something we would help them, to the best of our abilities, get through it."

"I know that but I'm a new here, learning to forgive and trust someone who you have known for years is a lot easier than trying to understand what someone has done when you've known them for what, two months now? Especially when they have things in their past that they are not particularly proud of and people that they do not want to meet again nor have you meet them." Gidget explained while cupping her elbows. "I mean that's the exact reason that I haven't been trying to remember anything lately and probably the reason I put up the mental blocks in the first place. But apparently, since I started to break through it a month ago, the memories are kinda…seeping out now." Gidget sought for the right word. "Which means I'm gonna have to introduce you guys to some pretty bad demons from my past."

"The thing I don't get," Chiro spoke up while laying a hand on his face. "Is how if we are getting your dreams, part of mine was about an event in my past, one that neither you nor the team were a part of?"

"The way dreams transmute among several people is different from sharing a memory." Gidget explained while using her hands to emphasize. "If I were to mind-meld with you when we were both conscious and you were trying to remember a specific event, I would get the full memory from your point of view with your emotions and feelings. When dreams are shared, it is more like just part of them gets through, since neither person is consciously trying to connect with the other. I might have sent out a dream I was having about…" She twirled her hand and waited for someone to finish for her.

"Being chased by the team." Sparx finished as Gidget raised a confused eyebrow but continued on.

"So yeah you might have just gotten the part where they chased you, but you might change the setting, or reason, or even who was chasing you. It is not as full and complete of a process as a conscious mind-meld is so wires get crossed and things get left out and so your brain uses your memories to fill in the blanks. Dreams are already pretty complicated subjects and only get more so when you add in telepathic powers." Gidget explained while rubbing her head.

"Wait," Nova said while holding up a hand. "Even you don't remember what was in the dreams?" She asked while Gidget slowly shook her head.

"Not if several people have gotten it, no. The dreams and memories tend to diffuse as more people get these unconcentrated bursts, that's probably why we couldn't remember what they were about after we woke up, it also ties into why I didn't know they had gotten as bad as they have." Gidget sighed while rubbing her head. "But I don't wanna just make up excuses, you guys are right. I should have come forward sooner and saved you all the headache, literally. So I'm sorry, for everything."

"Look Crash," Sparx said as he placed a hand on the nervous monkey's back. "While we get why you were scared, you got to learn to trust us more and assume we're not gonna just toss you out of the robot just because you have kind of a dark past."

"Sparx is right." Chiro confirmed while stepping forward with a smile. "You aren't here on a trial basis or temporarily, you are our teammate from now until and if you decide you don't want to be anymore."

"And let us not forget:" Antauri started as everyone joined in.

"No monkey team member is ever alone." Everyone laughed together, even Gidget who even managed a small, if not wary, smile.

"Okay guys, I promise from here on out I'll come to you with anything else I find out myself, even the horrible stuff." She managed to smile more confidently as Antauri cleared his throat.

"We do have a more pressing matter at hand here." He gathered everyone's attention. "There must be a reason that Gidget has experienced more and more frequent nightmares recently."

"Are you saying that there might still be a greater force at work here that might even be manipulating her to attack us?" Gibson asked while Antauri only shrugged.

"That I do not know, but I do know that we cannot allow our teammate to suffer any longer, we must help coach her through this."

"So what, do we all need to sit around, hold hands and sing songs till she gets over it?" Sparx jokingly asked while the silver simian shook his head.

"No actually, I was thinking of using a more direct approach…"

* * *

What is Antauri suggesting? Bet you totally can't figure out from the title alone. Like I said, I still really like this chapter even though it was conceived pretty much one morning when I was half asleep, seriously. Also I think this story now officially passes the Bechdel Test? Yay, two main female characters having a discussion not about a man, obviously I am at the pentacle of writing here. Oh, don't forget to comment kids, while I can see you are reading, I don't know if you are enjoying it, so criticism is welcome!


	28. Episode 55: Dream Weaver Part 3

And here is the slightly late chapter! The next one should only be a quarter of the length of this one though so, yay?

Sorry it took so long to get this one out there guys, I just got bogged down in the middle and wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this chapter. The good news is that not only did I figure out what I wanted to do, this chapter is now full of some really important plot development!

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Otto said as he yawned and held up a hand. "You guys woke me up so I could go right back to sleep?"

"Well yes, but it's a bit more complicated than that." Gibson spoke as Otto waved him off and laid down on one of the mats the team had set up in a circle.

"I get it, I get it." He said tiredly as he curled up on the floor. "We all go to sleep, get in Gidget's head, figure out what's going on, and help her defeat it. It's not that hard of a plan to understand, Gibson."

"Yes but-" Gibson tried to explain as Otto ignored him and went straight back to sleep. After sighing heavily, Gibson turned back to the rest of the team, shaking his head. "For everyone else then, I have some sleep aids we can take to make sure we doze off quickly. For those of us not exhausted from staying up all night, that is." Gibson looked back at Otto, who was already snoring, as he handed out two small pills to everyone else. He stopping in front of Genesis as she stuck her hand out and made a motion for him to give her some, causing Gibson to lift an eyebrow while turning to Gidget for confirmation.

"Uh, no way missy." Gidget stated as she placed her hands on her hips. "There is no way I'm putting you in danger."

Genesis quickly snapped up her hand and mimicked Gidget's stance before quickly scribbling: _You won't be, I will be in no danger going inside of your head, you know as well as I do that dreams cannot hurt us physically. _

"Not technically, no." Gidget agreed while rolling her eyes. "But there is always the possibility of emotional damage and mental strain that can lead symptoms in the real world." She quickly countered.

"Um you know, I don't think I want to go on this trip through Giggle's mind anymore." Sparx spoke up before Nova gently elbowed him in the side, making him shush as Genesis wrote her response.

_And I know you better than anyone else. If anything I'm the number one person you want to have with you while in there. I've seen a lot of the same stuff you have, nothing in there is going to surprise or scare me. _Genesis explained while rolling her eyes for emphasis once everyone was done reading the note.

"Yeah but…" Gidget looked around at the rest of the team, searching for an excuse. "Gibson, shouldn't someone stay here to make sure everything is okay on this side?"

"Okay seriously? We need someone to watch our unconscious bodies? I'm out of here!" Sparx announced loudly and turned to walk away as Nova pulled him back by his collar-bone and scolded him while Gibson violently shook his head.

"No, this a perfectly safe venture!" He protested while Genesis smiled in triumph and held her hand out again while also holding up the notebook with her last argument.

_I'm tired of just having to sit around and wait for you guys while you're off fighting evil, I want to do something to help. I might not have any weapons but that doesn't make me useless. _She looked around the room with pleading eyes as everyone turned to Gidget for the final say so. The purple monkey looked defiant for a few more seconds before sighing heavily and giving up.

"Fine, Gibson you can give Geni some, I guess she's going." Genesis jumped up in the air triumphantly and took the medicine from Gibson before sitting down on the mat in-between Otto and Gidget.

"Now everyone can go ahead and take the medication," Gibson explained while swallowing his own portion. "It's fast acting but not immediate. It will still take a few minutes to get into the REM sleep cycle so don't expect to be dropped into a dream right away." He explained as everyone swallowed the pills and took a spot on the floor. "But I don't know much else about this process other than the medication so Antauri, Gidget?"

"I would recommend trying to get into a meditative state as you are waiting to get to sleep." Antauri advised while crossing his legs and assuming his normal meditation position. "It should make it easier for you to enter her dreams now that we are actively trying to accomplish the goal, but having your mind clear will most certainly help."

"Mostly just don't be scared and don't resist it." Gidget added as she sat down cross-legged while holding her pills loosely in hand. "I'm going to try to make connections with everyone before I fall asleep, so you might spend a bit of time in your own dreams before my thoughts start invading them. " She sighed and rubbed her head. "But this is the first time I've ever tried something like this so I don't really know what else to tell you. These pills will help you get to sleep and to the REM cycle quickly, but your higher brain functions will still be working. You should be able to tell you are in a dream and will have control over your environment because you'll be in a lucid state.

"That means when things start getting weird, look for the other team members before trying to find me. If I'm really at the center of this, you all are going to want to face the monsters together. These guys in my head are probably really powerful and while it is only a dream, so you aren't in any real danger, they can still make you think that you are being attacked and hurt, so don't think that you're invincible." Gidget explained while looking around at the rest of the team slowly. "Stick together and if you are really having trouble getting out of your own dreams, wait for Antauri. That's why he's going in, he will remain mostly conscious through this process and should be able to remind you that you are dreaming. Just make sure that you don't wake yourself up, you will be much more powerful in a lucid dreaming state than in a semi-conscious one." Gidget sighed and shook her head. "Lastly, I'm sorry for anything you guys might see in there; my mind is not a pretty place." Gidget explained as the rest of the team looked at her and slowly nodded. "Alright then, if there's nothing else to say; Good night everyone, and see you in my dreams."

.::~::.

Chiro slowly opened his eyes to see he was laying on the grass under the shade of a large oak tree in Shugazoom City Park. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and best of all, Jinmay was curled up to his side, fast sleep. He smiled to himself as he pulled his girlfriend closer and closed his eyes again, nothing could beat days like this. With the Skeleton King defeated, his girlfriend close at his side, and a nice picnic lunch packed safely away in his stomach, it was nice to just lay around. He did not have to worry about random monsters attacking, everything being a trap, and best of all…

"Chiro, Jinmay!" the boy leaned up slightly, as to not disturb his resting girlfriend, and looked down the gentle hill to see his mother waving happily at the couple. "Come on you two, we're about to have desert and it's your favorite; cherry pie à la mode!"

_Yup, nothing in the universe could be better than this. What a perfect day._ Chiro thought happily to himself as he looked up and was slightly shocked to see dark clouds rolling in from the horizon. _Unless it starts raining,__ we might have to cut desert short, but that's no big deal._ He thought to himself as he looked back down to his mother to warn her about the rain…but she was already gone.

Confused, Chiro searched for her as he realized that Jinmay was no longer laying beside him and a cold wind was blowing. The clouds were now rushing overhead and the sound of thunder shook his eardrums. He quickly got to his feet, realizing that something was very wrong as the clouds grew darker and angrier with each passing second. As Chiro readied himself for an attack and the clouds bubbled back to reveal a gigantic Skeleton King looming over the city and chuckling grimly to himself.

"Prepare for your destruction, Shugazoom City." The monstrous villain cackled as he lifted his giant staff and started to smash the buildings on the edge of the city.

"No!" Chiro yelled as he ran towards the monster at full speed, fist raised to attack. "Chiro Spearo!" He yelled as he sent a bolt of lightning at the Skeleton King, but it seemed to have no effect on the undead monstrosity.

"Foolish boy." The monster chuckled as it lifted its foot to crush Chiro. Terrified and out of options, Chiro coward in fear and covered his eyes while waiting for the worst…

"Monkey Mind Screech!" the disparaged Chiro's paralysis was broken and opened his eyes to see Antauri attacking the Skeleton King as Gibson ran to Chiro's side and helped him to his feet.

"Come on now then, we have work to do." Gibson encouraged as he rushed Chiro out from under the foot of their greatest enemy. "I see that the nightmares have already started, which means we'll have to hurry and find the rest of the team."

"Wha-what?" Chiro stuttered out, confused as the realization slowly started to dawn on him. "Oh man, we're in another dream." He gently slapped himself on the head as he remembered what the team's mission was. "I forgot already." He shook his head as Gibson nodded solemnly.

"Yes, we are. But worry not about forgetting that, I was completely immersed in my dream too when Antauri came and awoken me. Though my dream had not turned sour yet." Gibson explained as Chiro turned around and looked up at the Skeleton King, who while still huge, was not nearly the city destroying size Chiro had first imagined him as.

"Hey if this is our dream, couldn't we take control of it and make it our own? Like make Skeleton King disappear with a flip of our wrists?" Chiro asked as he demonstrated, but to no noticeable effect.

"I don't believe so," Antauri spoke out as he readied his claws for another attack. "While this is your dream, this creation is Gidget's or at least some part of it is. It could be that she is dreaming about Skeleton King, or something else attacking the city or any number of things." He explained as he leap towards the monster.

"But if we figure out what parts of the dream is yours, we can use that to help defeat him." Gibson added while zapping the Skeleton King with his drill.

"Okay well if the Monster isn't mine," Chiro thought out loud while looking around. "Maybe the setting is and I just need to think of something to add into the environment to defeat it." He thought for a moment more before snapping his fingers in realization. "I know what I can do! Gibson, Antauri keep him busy while I summon up something to get rid of him."

Antauri and Gibson nodded and activated their jet packs while flying straight towards the Skeleton King's face. They both started yelling and attacking him, keeping his attention on them while Chiro placed his fingers to his temples and concentrated hard. As Antauri and Gibson flew around the monster's head, who swatted at them annoyed, Chiro tried to think up something to fight the monster.

The heavy thumps that made the buildings shake alerted him that he had succeeded. Gibson and Antauri looked up in confusion as the fake Skeleton King used the momentary distraction to swing his gigantic hand at them. Gibson looked up at the last moment and was able to fly out-of-the-way, but Antauri was too distracted by the rumbling to notice the hand.

"Antauri!" He tried warn his silver companion, but was too late and watched in horror as palm connected violently with the robotic monkey, sending him into a spiraling nosedive towards the ground. "Chiro!" Gibson yelled to the young leader to alert him to the falling monkey as the shaking steps got closer. Both raced for Antauri's body as he sped towards the ground, Chiro jumping up to catch him as Gibson reached out to grab his foot and Antauri flickered out of existence.

"What?!" They gasped in unison as instead of grabbing the silver simian, the boy and the blue monkey crashed into each other. The force of the two bodies crashing together sent them both to the ground in a ball of arms and legs.

"Where did Antauri go?" Chiro asked as he and Gibson untangled themselves from each other and had to fight down vertigo as it suddenly seemed like they were seeing double.

"I'm not sure." Gibson blinked as he slowly started or realize that the second vision he was seeing was a red monkey lying beside of him. He realized with a start he was starting to wake up and fought down the urge to stir. "Chiro, quick focus on this environment, clear everything else from your mind!" Chiro looked confused for a minute before he realized what Gibson was getting at and shut his eyes. After a few moments the half-awake feeling faded and Gibson and Chiro sighed in unison.

"That was close; could that be what happened to Antauri? Could he have woken up? Chiro asked as Gibson tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"I actually think it might have been." Gibson admitted as the stomping crashes finally stopped and the clouds separated to reveal a larger-than-life sized Super Robot looming over the minuscule-in-comparison Skeleton King. "Is that your creation?" Gibson asked while pointing to the Robot.

"Yeah, it's the best thing I could come up with to take care of the Skeleton King." Chiro explained as he helped Gibson to his feet. The Gigantic Super Robot easily picked up the squirming Skeleton King, cocked back his arm, and tossed the flailing monster far into the horizon.

"I think it was an excellent idea." Gibson placed a hand to his brow to block the sun from his eyes as he watched their greatest enemy disappear in a twinkle of light.

"So what should we do now?" Chiro asked as the clouds parted and the sunshine returned to his dream world. "Should we wait around for Antauri to get back or until someone else shows up in my dream like you guys did?"

"No I don't think it works like that." Gibson explained while shaking his head. "I was only able to leave my dream once I realized it was one, which I was only able to do because Antauri appeared and reminded me of why we are here in the first place." Gibson started to walk away as he explained and Chiro jogged to catch up with him, turning once to look back at the city in his mind and the Super Robot standing protectively over it. The Robot raised his hand and waved slowly to Chiro who returned the farewell before turning his attention back to Gibson. "I think we actually have to leave and find the rest of the team to bring them into this lucid dreaming state we are in."

"And how exactly do we move from one dream to another?" Chiro asked as Gibson walked on.

"I actually think we will just wander into them." The blue monkey explained as they walked deeper into Shugazoom Park. "I know that all me and Antauri did was keep walking forward till he sensed that you were in danger." Chiro nodded as the trees started to become larger and closer together and the woods seemed to swallowing them up.

"So there was no doorway or anything you had to walk through?" Chiro asked as he ducked to avoid a branch. "You were just sorta suddenly there?"

"Yes, that's correct." Gibson confirmed as he pushed overgrowth out-of-the-way so he and Chiro could squeeze through between two trees. "I assume we can do the same until we run into someone else, maybe even Antauri again. Assuming that he has gotten back into a meditative state, that is."

"I hope so; I don't really want to just be wandering around here for hours on end." Chiro stated as he stood up straight and smacked his head into something wet. Letting out a yell of disgust, he fell to his knees and reached back to grab his head.

"Chiro are you alright?" Gibson asked concerned as his leader nodded slowly.

"Yeah I'm fine." He answered as Gibson made him lean down so he could examine his head. "I just hit something wet." Gibson pulled his hand back and showed Chiro the slimy film that covered his head.

"What is that?" Gibson asked intrigued while Chiro echoed him in disgust. He slowly stood up again, making sure to avoid hitting the branch, and carefully pushed the leaves away to reveal a single black, glassy eye staring back at him.

This time both Gibson and Chiro yelled in repulsion as they quickly backed out into a small opening in the forest and found themselves standing in the middle of a grove of trees.

That were covered in fish.

Fish of all shapes, sizes and colors covered the branches and lazily turned to face the odd couple as they backed out into the clearing. They sluggishly opened and closed their mouths, seeming to mock them with silent laughter.

"There are fish on those trees." Chiro was finally able to utter.

"There are." Gibson confirmed in shock as he absent-mindedly whipped his hand on the ground, getting rid of the fish slime.

"They are just hanging there, like fruit!" Chiro continued in too much of a state of shock to comprehend much else.

"I wonder why they still have gills if they don't need water to breathe." Gibson pondered, bringing his clean hand up to his chin. "There is just no need for them to have gills when they aren't underwater."

"Why are there fish trees in the first place?" Chiro asked in amazement as Gibson continued to stroke his chin. "And why are they just hanging there looking at us?"

"Maybe it's a kind of self-defense." Gibson suggested while stepping closer to see if he could identify the species. "They are so off-putting that predators don't dare to eat them."

"Which is really too bad cause they taste delicious." A voice behind them piped up, causing Gibson and Chiro to twirl around just as Otto emerged from the trees carrying a covered basket of freshly picked fish under one arm. "But you guys are just in time to help me collect the rest of the harvest."

"What." Chiro said flatly as Otto handed both him and Gibson a basket.

"Yeah, if we collect them all before sunset, we can start bagging them up to sell at the market on tomorrow." Otto explained calmly as he turned to a tree and started pulling fish from the branches. The animals struggled at first and tried to wiggle out of the green mechanic's grip, but he was able to easily overpower them and place them safely into the basket, setting the lid firmly on top again. "Just make sure you don't get sloppy and let any escape, the last thing we need is these things flying off."

"They have the ability to fly too?" Gibson asked intrigued as Chiro was only able to offer a confused series of baffled sounds as a response. "How is that even possible if they don't have wings?"

"They use their fins of course, duh Gibson." Otto laughed and shook his head as he pulled a trout looking fish from the branch. "Just make sure you get the cherry ones, they are the most popular flavor, you know." Otto reminded them before taking the fish in his hand and biting its head clean off. Chiro covered his mouth in disgust as Otto turned the freshly decapitated fish around for them to see its insides. "See?" He asked through a mouth full of gelatin, which was exactly what the fish was filled with. Cherry flavored gelatin to be exact.

"Otto!" A familiar female voice exclaimed from somewhere beyond tree line. "Hurry I need help, and bring the net!"

"Oh no!" Otto gasped as he set down the rest of the fish he had been snacking on and picked up a large fish net. "Come on guys, get the other corners and come help me wrangle up some fish."

Gibson and Chiro could only stare dumbly at each other as Otto shoved the other end of the net into their hands and pulled them through the tree line and out into another, more well-kept row of fish trees. Much to their confusion, both Nova and Genesis were there trying to catch as many flying gummy fish as they could.

"Thank goodness you guys are here!" Nova exclaimed as she jetted around catching the fluttering fish and handing them off to the fretting Genesis who was furiously stuffing them back into the tipped over basket. "The pail got knocked over and now our crop is getting away. Help me and Geni wrangle them up before they get away!" Chiro stood silently in shock a few moments before finally throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"That's it, I give up trying to understand anything about this dream, it is officially too weird for me to handle." He shook his head as Otto, Nova and Genesis slowly stopped what they were doing and asked in unison.

"Dream?" They all looked at each other in confusion as Nova slowly floated down to the ground and Genesis squeezed her head in her hands.

"Wait you mean to tell me this is all a dream." Otto asked as he looked around, confused and a bit sad. "You mean to tell me that these candy fish aren't real?" He asked as he plucked one out of the sky as it swooped down past his head. "And that we aren't fish farmers who are trying to grow the biggest fish for the annual fish festival?"

"Otto I can promise you we aren't- and will never be- any of those things." Gibson explained while slowly shaking his head and Otto sighed, disheartened.

"Aww man all that sounded like it was gonna be a lot of fun." Otto admitted while Genesis took the fish from his hand and took a bite out its back.

"At least our dream fish still taste good." She pointed out while biting into the lime flavored fish.

"Why are we dreaming about weird candy fish in the first place?" Nova asked while shaking her head. "I mean I can't even fathom why something…like that… would..." She slowly trailed off as she and the rest of the team turned towards Genesis. "Did you just talk?" Nova asked the small, brown monkey who was slowly chewing her mouthful of fish.

"Um, yeah?" She managed to speak after swallowing the food before quickly putting a hand to her throat. "I talked, not thought talked but real talked." She dropped the fish and clamped both hands to her mouth. "I'm still talking, holy Shugazoom you guys are hearing my actual voice!" She squealed in happiness while laughing to herself. "I mean listen! Words! Actual real words are coming from my vocal cords right now!" She laughed again, this time louder and adding a 'whoop' to the end.

"We hear." Chiro said as he and the rest of the team laughed with her. "I guess that's a side effect of us all being inside of each other's heads." Genesis smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah I guess so but man you guys don't know how long it's been since I heard my own voice." She laughed again, a sound as clear as a bell and just as musical. "I had almost forgotten what I sound like."

"So, you used to be able to talk?" Otto asked her, making Geni's face drop a bit.

"Yeah, a long time ago I think." She answered truthfully and a bit warily.

"Then what happened?" Gibson asked, keeping the suspicion out of his voice. Genesis slowly shook her head and gave a small smile.

"I'm really not sure, but I assume that I'm not remembering for a reason." She admitted with a small shrug as Gibson gave her an aside look. "If what Gidget is starting to remember is any indication, it was probably a pretty traumatic experience."

"Then don't worry about it, Lil' sis." Otto said as he pulled her into a big bear hug, lifting her off the ground. "No one is gonna make you remember anything you don't want to."

"Okay Otto I won't." She smiled as he squeezed her even harder. "You can let me down now though, so you know, I can breathe." She laughed as he set her back down on the ground and she stretched her back out.

"So wait, which part of this dream is from Gidget exactly?" Chiro asked as he looked around. "I'm gonna flip if you tell me that you and her have seen a planet with candy fish trees." The auburn monkey laughed while shaking her head.

"Not that I know of." Genesis put a hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Well then I suggest we keep moving forward till we find the rest of the team." Gibson mentioned as everyone gave votes of agreement. "The sooner we locate them, the sooner we can go help Gidget. Which is the reason we came here, remember?"

"Then what are we standing around yakking for?" Nova asked while pumping her fist in the air. "Let's get to it."

.::~::.

The group walked on and continued chatting and joking around as the woods thinned out and signs of civilization started to reappear. The trees were replaced with stone buildings and the soft ground underneath replaced with cracked and broken concrete, weeds sprouting up from beneath it. Their jovial laughing started to taper off as the pleasant scenery and mood became darker and more depressing. Chiro shivered as they passed the long abandoned stone buildings and empty streets.

"Genesis does this place seem familiar?" He asked as the café colored monkey slowly nodded, her red bow bouncing slowly as she did.

"It does, but I don't know why. I think we came here once and stayed for a while, made it like a base." She looked around and rubbed her arms absent-mindedly. "I didn't really like it back then either, I was glad when we finally moved on from this place."

"Geni," Nova said to bring the girl's attention back to the present moment. "Who exactly is 'we'?" The small monkey slowed down and lowered her head as Nova continued. "Back in my room, when we were talking about the nightmares, you didn't get really excited until I mentioned that Antauri was in the dream, but he wasn't the Antauri you knew because he had black fur. That was when you really got animated, so I guess what I'm asking is, do you know of other robot monkey's out there?" Everyone stopped and looked at the girl with the red bow who was now visibly shaking.

"Genesis," Chiro said as he stepped forward slightly. "What aren't you telling us about your and Gidget's past?"

"And just how much do _you _actually remember about it?" Gibson added, more than a little intrigued. "Is it more than even Gidget does?" Genesis remained silent as she clenched her hands closely to her chest.

"Lil' sis?" Otto ventured forward and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, which made her jerk forward and pull away.

"You all are just so similar to them!" She suddenly yelled out while twisting around to face the team, tears streaming down her face. "And Gidget really seemed to not remember them so I certainly wasn't going to bring them back up!" She shouted while running her hand over her arm. "I mean when I first saw you all I thought that they had found us again and were going to… but then I saw Chiro and Antauri and realized that you weren't them, you weren't anything like them." She took a few gasping breaths before continuing. "You looked like them but were so different that I just hoped that we could forget all about them and maybe if I acted like they never existed, like everything they had ever done to me and Gidget had just been a dream and we could finally move on with our lives." She cupped a hand to her mouth, holding back a sob. "But that's just the problem, they did.

"They became nightmares, then they started to attach Gidget directly and somehow they found us again. She doesn't even properly remember them and they are still haunting her! Then her dreams started to seep out as the days and weeks moved on, I just hadn't realized they had started invading your dreams until Nova mentioned a black monkey, then I just knew it had to be him." She finally stopped talking, her body racked with sobs as she shook uncontrollably. Otto moved in quickly to scoop her up into a hug as Nova did the same, both flanking her from the sides. "I just wanted to escape and forget them; we just wanted to get away from them." She covered her face with her hands and wept openly. The rest of the team simply stared at each other in shock, unable to move or even say anything.

"Genesis…" Gibson started to say as an inhuman screech suddenly stole the breath from his lungs and the team twirled every which way trying to figure out where it was coming from.

"Oh no." Genesis said in a tiny voice, barely audible enough to hear. "They know we're here." The team quickly formed a tight circle around Genesis and transformed their weapons.

"Be on your guard, team." Chiro said as he took an offensive pose and brought his hands up. A cold wind blew past them, harsh and unforgiving as it ruffled their hair and fur. Suddenly, sick sounding laughter came from a shadowed alleyway, causing the team to turn quickly towards it. From the darkness slowly emerged a shadowed figure, chuckling light to itself.

"I see you are still hiding behind others, Genesis." It hissed with a raspy voice at the small monkey, who cringed back in response. "That was what you were always best at though, never daring to stand up or speaking out for yourself, more than willing to let others pay for your weaknesses. So please, keep pushing people you obviously don't care about in front of you to be used as shields. They are much more fun to play with than you would be." The figure fully emerged from the gloom, revealing himself to be a full-grown cybernetic monkey with pitch black fur. Except where his face should have been, the space was distorted and blurry, like someone had taken an eraser and tried to smug away all features of it. The grotesque and faceless being laughed again and shook his head. "You can't even properly recreate us in your own mind. What a useless, worthless girl you are."

"Leave Lil' sis alone!" Otto suddenly snapped, bringing everyone's attention to him. "You're nothing but a bully and a fake-"

"Stop your incessant chattering, you idiotic, green moron." He snapped his head in Otto's direction. "I do not care for whatever silly little speech you are going to try to tell me." He carefully choose each word before spitting it out like venom, actually causing Otto to snap his mouth shut. "Your ignorant little ideals mean nothing to me, I care not for any discourse you might have on friendship, love, family, or anything else similar to those stupid matters, so keep them to yourself." The team shuffled uncomfortable as he snapped his attention back to Genesis.

"Now where were we?" He asked as he took a step forward, causing Gibson and Nova to step protectively in front of her. But with small hands, she reached up and gently pushed them apart, surprising everyone as she stepped in between them and up to the mutated monster.

"You were talking about how I never stand up for myself." Genesis spoke confidently even though her head only came up to his chin when she stood straight. If she clenched her fists, she could barely notice how bad she was shaking. "Well not any more, I'm finally going to stand up to you because you aren't real. This is all in my mind and being projected out because we're all in a mind meld right now and you can't hurt me-" In the blink of an eye, his hand was around her throat and he lifted her off the ground, pulling her close to his face.

"Oh let me tell you how very, _very_ wrong you are on that account, Genesis." He squeezed tightly, cutting off her oxygen supply and causing her to claw at his hand to be released. Of course, the team rushed forward to help her.

"Hey you let her go!" Nova yelled rushing forward to help. She pulled back her fist to launch at the black blurry blob, but was suddenly jerked backwards and went flying through the air, landing hard on her back. She tried to push herself back up on her elbows, but stopped by a foot to the chest that pushed her back down into the dirt. She looked up to see a yellow furred monkey with a blurred out face standing over her with one arm slung over its knee and the other on its hip.

"Not so fast, spunky yellow female." The black monkey shook his head. "You don't really think I would come without some sort of back up, do you? Just go ahead and stay down there, it will be easier if you all simply didn't resist." Nova growled and tried to sit back up, just to be pushed down to the ground again.

"He said stay." The gruff voiced yellow monkey snapped while pressing down on her chest.

"Not a chance." Nova snapped back as she grabbed his leg and yanked him off, slinging him to the ground this time. "Just stay down there, it will make it easier for you if you do." She mocked as the faceless monkey growled deep in the back of his throat and sent a kick aimed right at Nova's face. She dodged it, but the momentary distraction allowed the yellow monkey to get back on his feet. Without saying anything else, he sent a fist flying towards her face, Nova barely moving in time to avoid it. "Okay now you're talking my language, bring it, ya' faceless freak!" Gibson rushed forward to help his yellow comrade, but was sent to the ground by a hard kick to his back.

"I don't think so." A feminine voice called as Gibson rolled over to see three more faceless monkeys standing over him, these with blue, red, and green fur. "You boys are fighting us." The red one continued as the blue one dove forward, fist raised, and aimed for Gibson's head. He rolled out-of-the-way just as they landed where he had previously been lying, but they wasted no time as they pulled their fists back and rushed towards him again.

The green one let out a maniacal laughed and turned towards the red one. "Ooohh can I have the one that looks like me? He looks like he's gonna be fun to play with!" His cackles got even more shrill as the red one gave a nod of confirmation, and he leapt at Otto. "Yes!" He yelled as Otto sidestepped to avoid him, but this barely fazed the faceless monkey. He laughed louder in response, a sound that even unhinged Otto a bit, as he ran towards the hyper force member, hands dragging in the dirt.

"I guess that means you're mine, fleshie." The red female teased as Chiro wasted no time in gathering energy in his fist and launching it at her.

"Chiro Spearo!" yelled as it hit her square in the chest and sent her flying backwards into a decrepit building. But as the dust cleared, she simply stood up and chuckled to herself.

"Nice shot." She seemed to be smirking just by the sound of her voice. "My turn." She sang as she ran forward and leapt into Chiro's stomach with her shoulder, knocking the breath out of him.

"Let them go!" Genesis screamed as she struggled to get the black monkey's hand off her throat. "Don't you hurt my family!"

"Your _family_?" The seemingly leader asked incredulously. "You think that after all this, they are still going to want you and that worthless piece of scrap you call your 'sister' anywhere near them?" The chortle he gave out was even more chilling than the green one's wicked laugh. "When we're done with them, we'll be the only family you two hopeless girls will have left to run to."

Genesis glared at him harshly as she pulled both her feet back and sent them flying into his gut, simultaneously knocking the air from his lungs as she pushed herself out of his grip and to the ground. She scrambled away from him quickly, but did not run away, instead choosing to take a defensive pose as he caught his breath.

"We're not running away any more." Genesis stated once again as the black monkey seemed to emit a dark aura. "We're finally going to stand up to you because we have something worth fighting for now. There is a home here we are willing to die to protect and you will never take that from us."

"Well we'll just have to see about that, won't we precious, little Genesis?" He said simply as he ran forward to grab her again, but was suddenly thrown to the ground in a silver blur.

"Not while I'm around, you won't." Antauri said calmly as he lifted up his transformed claw and sent it smashing down into the apparition's skull. The already blurry monkey seemed to lose its shape even more, before disappearing completely. The other members of his deformed team seemed to keep their bodies for just a moment longer before disappearing themselves, leaving the Hyper Force to stare at each other silently as they caught their breaths.

Finally the silence was broken as Genesis gave a short, dry sob before regaining her composer as best she could. "Thank you." She managed through trembling lips as she sniffed loudly and ran to Antauri, wrapping her arms around his waist as he stood up.

Antauri gently rubbed the back of her head, patting her bow down as he talked. "Can someone please tell me who it was that I just destroyed and you all were fighting?" The rest of the team all looked blankly at each other as they struggled for an answer.

"I think they used to be Gidget and Geni's teammates." Chiro finally managed while scratching the back of his head. "If I understood what that black one was saying that is." Everyone looked down to Geni, who was rubbing her cheeks as she nodded slowly.

"Who were they?" Nova asked while bending down to the small monkey's level. "I mean like, names and stuff."

"That I really can't remember." Genesis admitted as she pushed herself back from Antauri. "It's all a blur, kinda like their faces were. The only thing I know for sure that was right, was their voices, those I never really forgot." She shiver involuntarily and wrapped her arms around herself. "Can we please just go before they return? I would pretty much want to deal with anything else our brains has to throw as us, as long as it isn't them again."

"I think that would be the wisest thing to do." Antauri agreed. "We still have one more team member to find before we go and confront Gidget about all of this." He waved absent-mindedly to the area around him. "We will have plenty of time afterwards to talk about the things we saw here after we deal with the more pressing matter first." He looked at everyone who nodded in agreement as they quickly got on their way, not wanting to probe for more information till Genesis was a bit calmer.

"Sooooo," Otto finally ventured, after they had left the ruined city miles behind them and seemed to be moving into a new area. "Isn't it cool that we are finally getting to hear Lil' sis' voice and talk to her directly?" He asked everyone excitedly, and even managing to get a small smile from Geni herself.

"Finally?" Antauri echoed with a smirk. "I knew what she sounded like, I talk to her all the time."

"Yeah well not all of us are telekinetic." Nova reminded him while rolling her eyes. "And I love being able to talk to her without having to wait for her to write a reply." She wrapped her arm around Genesis's shoulders and pulled her close. "Even though you have quite a skill in writing quickly and eligible." She added as Geni laughed.

"Thanks Nova, but I know what you mean. It is really nice not to have to rely on someone else to speak for me or hope that my pencils are sharpened enough to communicate."

"You know, I've never actually examined your vocal cords." Gibson pointed out as they walked into a more desolated area. "After we sort all this out, I could see if whatever is stopping you from speaking can be fixed." She smiled wanly as Otto jumped up and down, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Oh oh! And if you can't fix them, maybe there is something me and Gidget can make to help you talk anyways. Like something that transforms thoughts into words." Otto started planning before Genesis was even able to reply.

"Well yeah, maybe we could-" She finally started to speak as a sharp yell interrupted her and everyone turned their attention to the valley from which it was coming from.

"On your guard, team." Chiro ordered shortly as everyone transformed their hands and Genesis was pushed protectively to the back of the group.

The team slowly moved as a single unit over the red hill, cautious as to what this dreamland would throw at them next. Nova was at the head of group, so she was the first to crest the hill and let out a loud gasp, bringing her hands to her mouth.

"Oh my…." She shook her head in disbelief the rest of the team rushed to her side. "There is just no way." They all looked down on the valley and had an eerie feeling of déjà vu. It finally clicked as to why the blood-red landscape looked so familiar, as the team watched the events the Object of Fire Incident played out far below them. They saw that Mandarin was starting to make some kind of big speech, and shook their heads in disbelief.

"What is this?" Gibson finally asked as Genesis looked down at the scene in confusion.

"Is that Sparx?" She asked while pointing down to the red blur far below them and turning to face the team.

"A version of me, yeah." The team's best pilot answered as everyone turned and saw Sparx sitting on an outcrop or rocks not far from them. "I think it's like a dream me though, not the real me. I mean obviously, I'm sitting right here watching it with you guys." Everyone looked at him in shock; he was acting so calm and collected as he watched the scene. His chin was cradled gently in his hand and propped up by his knee as he watched with an almost bored expression. Only Genesis was unfazed as she looked from Sparx the scene playing out below and back again.

"Is this when you turned evil for like, a day?" She asked as he nodded absentminded.

"Oh hey," Sparx finally turned towards the team. "You're talking there Princess, nice to finally hear your voice."

"Thanks, and now I can finally tell you I don't really care for that nickname." Geni pointed out as she climbed up beside of Sparx to get a better look at the events down below.

"Eh, no one likes the nicknames I give them." Sparx pointed out as he held a hand out to help pull her up. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna stop using them any time soon, Princess."

"Sparx is this what you meant when you mentioned having nightmares every night?" Chiro asked as he motioned towards the fight below.

"Yeah, just about every night this scene replays in my head and I feel like I get a fresh perspective on everything I did wrong. Like here, watch this." The team turned back to the incident and watched as the dream Sparx tackled dream Mandarin to the ground. "See if I hadn't rushed in like that, I never would have gotten in contact with the object in the first place."

"Sparx," Gibson shook his head slowly. "You can't blame yourself for that when I could have done the same thing with the Object of Hate. Just because you were the first to jump into action doesn't mean the same thing couldn't have happened to any one of us."

"Yeah but no one else did rush in." Sparx pointed out while turning back to the scene. "I did and I'm the one who ended up hurting you guys because of it."

"So is this what your dreams have been about? You haven't seen any weird, evil clones of us running around?" Otto asked as Sparx raised his eyebrow.

"No, is that what everyone else is dreaming of?" Everyone nodded as he sighed heavily and rubbed his face. "Guess I really can't blame Gidget for my nightmares then, this is all me."

"Well it is possible that the negative aura she gives off while she sleeps is increasing the occurrence of nightmares you have experienced." Antauri pointed out while Genesis nodded in agreement.

"Why haven't you told anyone how serious this was?" Nova asked as she looked to Sparx, who could only shake his head in response.

"I guess the same reason Gidget didn't want to say anything about her dreams, how exactly do you start a conversation about having nightmares about killing your teammates?" He asked, and nobody had an answer for it.

"Actually," Genesis suddenly spoke. "We still need to go find my sister. It seems like the dreams are getting worse the closer we get to her."

"I agree with Genesis." Antauri stated as both her and Sparx climbed down off the rocks.

"The sooner we find her, the sooner we can get out of this crazy dream world and back to our only slightly crazy real world, so I'm all for that idea." Chiro agreed as they all walked away from the valley and started towards a large structure in the distance.

As they got closer the structure, which they realized was actually a decrepit castle, the scenery didn't so much as change as it started to intertwine with the sets from the other dreams. They passed by a dead grove of fish trees with the aquatic animal's skeletons littering the branches, with the red back drop of Sparx's dream still in the background. And as they got closer to the fortress, they re-entered the abandoned city, but this time it was mixed with bits of a long forgotten Shugazoom. The team talked quietly among themselves, keeping alert as they cautiously walked through the city, so Sparx almost jumped a foot in the air when Nova nudged his shoulder and motioned for him to fall back with her. He followed her lead as they slowed down and let themselves get out of earshot but still within sight of the rest of the team.

"What's up Nova?" He asked quietly as she furrowed her brow at him.

"Why didn't you tell you've been having nightmares about the Object of Fire?" She questioned as he sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know, maybe cause I know you're having trouble trusting me anyways and the last thing I wanted to do was make you feel more uneasy cause I keep dreaming about it?" He snapped, not really angry, just a bit frustrated. Nova pouted a bit and looked back at the rest of team.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." She finally admitted, which surprised Sparx. "But still, I guess I'm kinda hurt that you didn't want to talk to me about."

"I didn't want to talk to anyone about it." Sparx pointed out which Nova shrugged to. "I just didn't want to freak you out more by mentioning that I keep having dreams about the time I almost killed you." He looked down and sighed heavily. Nova looked sadly at him and placed a reassuring hand on his elbow.

"Hey the last thing I want to do is make you think that you can't come and talk to me about stuff, though." She said gently as she squeezed his arm. "Sure it might unhinge me a bit at first, but I'll get over it. Making sure that you're okay and overcoming it is a bigger priority, I mean how are we gonna make it work between us if we both keep worrying about silly stuff like dreams." She smiled at him as he looked up at her in happy surprise.

"You mean you're still okay with us giving it a shot after seeing that?" He hooked his thumb over his shoulder and she nodded as she slipped her hand into his.

"What, you think a little thing like that is gonna scare me off?" She smirked while giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm no coward, it would take a lot more than that to get rid of me." Sparx grinned widely while pulling Nova into a big hug.

"Good, cause I bet I'll find new ways to test your patience everyday, so the less marks I have against me at the beginning the better." He joked, making her laugh as she returned his hug with a tight one of her own.

"I look forward to it." She smiled as they pulled back and just smiled at each other as they held hands. Gibson cleared his throat to draw their attention back to the rest of the team, who had stopped just a few yard in front of them. The rest of the Hyper Force was snickering to themselves as Nova pushed herself back from Sparx, blushing profusely, as Genesis brought her hands up to her face and gave a small squeak of happiness.

"Man you guys are so cute together!" She giggled while jumping up and down, making Sparx awkwardly rub the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face as Nova held her fist up.

"Say another word about it and I'll make you think we're cute." She snapped as Geni hid behind Otto for protection and Sparx grabbed her hand and pulled it down.

"Calm down Nova, you know no one means anything by it." He smiled at her as he patted her hand. "Besides she's just telling the truth, you are adorable." Nova frowned at him as she twisted his arm around and made him flop to the ground.

"Don't even think about starting that sweet talk with me, SPRX-77." She snapped as her face grew another shade of red.

"Alright, alright! Just let me up." Sparx laughed as Nova helped him to his feet and they rejoined the rest of the team.

Antauri was chuckling himself, when he suddenly snapped his head up and looked to the decrepit castle. Chiro had been smiling to himself when he noticed that Antauri was suddenly looking at the structure and a bad feeling washed over him.

"Antauri, what's up?" He asked as the silver simian slowly shook his head.

"I just suddenly sensed a dark aura coming from the fortress, and I think it's coming from Gidget."

"Gidget's in trouble?" Otto asked concerned as Antauri shook his head again.

"I'm not sure but we should hurry to help her either way." He set a brisk pace for the castle with everyone following behind.

"Get into formation K everyone." Chiro ordered as the team nodded and quickly moved into a battle formation as they walked. "Geni, you stay near the back with me so I can keep an eye on you." He looked down at the auburn monkey who was wringing her hands together as she nodded absent-mindedly.

"Do you think we'll see them again?" Genesis looked up at Chiro, who could only shake his head.

"I think we should be ready to see anything." He concluded as Geni nodded while squeezing her hands to her chest.

The team moved in silence as they passed into the desolated courtyard and up the broken stone steps. They moved as a tight unit through the great empty rooms, always conscious that this world could throw anything at them at anytime. The halls were dusty with fallen stones and cobwebs covered entire doorways, making it apparent that they would not find Gidget through any of them.

"You have any clue where she might be?" Chiro asked Antauri who looked down a dark hallway and shook his head.

"I sense she is close but I don't know where-" a small whimper floated to their auditory receptors, and the entire team turned to face a staircase the ascended above them into the purple gloom. "Though I have a small inkling now." He spoke as the team moved swiftly up the stairs and into a large open area occupied by a sight that made them freeze as a feeling of dread passed through all of them.

In front of the Hyper Force, hoisted up by wires and machinery, was Gidget quietly whimpering. Her hands and feet were locked deep inside of strange mechanical devices, while cords snaked in and out of various points of her exposed brain. Worse of all, she looked so old; her fur was a musty purple, only a shade of the brilliant violet it had once been. She sobbed softly to herself as Otto was the first to venture forward, his hand outstretched.

"Gidget..." He tried to call out to her, but only received a small yelp in response as she tried to pull herself free from her bonds and away from the team.

"Please no..." She whispered as she struggled against her restraints. "Please just leave me alone and let me die in peace." She shook with sobs and she violently moved her head side to side. "Just don't use me to hurt anyone else." She finally lifted her head up and locked eyes with Otto, or she would have if her lilac eyes hadn't been glazed over, the fact she was blind obvious as she jerked her head around trying to face the voice.

"We're not here to hurt you." Nova argued as Gidget let out a bitter laugh.

"Like you haven't used that excuse before!" She spat as she let her head drop to her chest again. "Just leave me alone, haven't you used me enough? Why keep me alive just so you can make me kill the people I love over and over?" Everyone looked at each other in desperation.

"Gidget please listen to us," Gibson pleaded as he stepped closer to the old simian entrapped in the machinery. "We're here to let you go." She only laughed loudly in response, promoting Antauri to set forward.

"We are being sincere, this is all a dream that you have created. If you let us wake you up you'll see that-"

"All a dream?" Gidget echoed with a sad chuckle. "I really have to say, this is the best form of torture you've come up with yet. Telling me that you're not only here to release me, but also that these hundreds of years that I've been trapped here aren't real!" She laughed again, but it quickly turned into sad sobs as her chest hitched harshly. "Heck, I almost even believed you there for a second, but this is too good to be true."

"But it is!" Genesis ran forward, only being stopped from going straight up to Gidget by Nova's gentle hand on her shoulder. "Please Gidget, snap out of it and listen to us." The purple monkey slowly tilted her head to the side as she looked towards the smaller brown monkey.

"Geni?" She asked in confusion before blinking slowly, her eyes seeming to actually liven up a bit. "What are you doing here?"

"It's like Antauri said." Genesis continued as the team nodded her on in encouragement. "We're here to save you cause this is all just a dream."

"Yeah, we saw trees with candy fish on them, it was in official dream territory." Otto added with a serious head nod while Gidget turned to face him, her eyes finally clearing to their original lilac.

"Otto?" Gidget asked in confusion as she looked around at the rest of the team. "What are you all doing here?"

"You keep having nightmares, Giggles." Sparx reminded her as he crossed his arms. "And when you have them, everyone has 'em."

"No that's not what I mean." Gidget snapped as she quickly shook her head from side to side. "I mean what are you doing _here_?! If they find you they'll kill you! You guys have to leave now, my mind is not safe."

"Who is 'they'?" Sparx asked as the rest of the team got into a battle stance just as the five, familiar and faceless monkeys descended from the darkness above.

"You should have run while you had the chance." The red one giggled wickedly as Sparx blinked in surprise.

"Why am I female?" He asked while turning back to the team in confusion.

"Sparx look out, that's not you!" Gidget warned as she tried to pull herself free from the binds that fastened her in place. "Everyone get out now!" She screeched as the faceless simians rushed to attack them.

* * *

In which I leave you all in a state of suspense cause this scene is too long to finish in this chapter alone.

It's kinda funny how a chapter that takes place in Gidget's head is actually more focused on a character that has gotten no development as of yet but has been around just as long as her, Genesis!

You guys have no clue how much fun it was finally write dialog between Genesis and the other characters, which is also part of the reason that she has never really gotten that much development in the first place. For a chapter I had no intention of writing, a lot of important stuff sure is coming out of it.

And who are these mysterious new monkeys you might ask? What you think I'm gonna tell you now? Pfft you guys should know me better than that.


	29. Episode 55: Dream Weaver End

A swift punch to the jaw sent Sparx flying to the ground and where he slid all the way back to the team's feet.

"Hey!" Nova rushed on the female, pink monkey with her fist raised while Gibson bent down to help Sparx to his feet. Nova threw a right hook, which the opposing monkey swiftly stepped back to avoid while cackling wickedly.

"That isn't you, Sparx. Those are representations of Gidget and Genesis's old teammates." Gibson explained calmly while Sparx turned to the blue scientist in confusion.

"What." He uttered flatly as the other 4 monkeys rushed on the rest of the team. Sparx stumbled out-of-the-way just as the faceless blue monkey pinned Gibson to the ground, the yellow male attacked Antauri, the Green one ran forward to face Otto with a mad laugh, and the black simian went straight towards Genesis. "Hey leave her alone!" Sparx yelled as Chiro jumped forward to shield Geni.

"Yeah it's pretty low to attack a young, defenseless girl." Chiro snapped as he locked hands with the faceless freak, who chuckled nefariously.

"Well it has hardly stopped me before." He taunted as Chiro growled deep in his throat. Genesis glared at him and jumped around Chiro to land a solid punch into the monkey's gut.

"Yeah well I'm never letting you do it again!" She yelled in defiance as her fist seemed to have no effect on the nameless monkey. The featureless monster only turned down to face her and wrap his tail around her wrist and, in one swift movement, tossed her over his shoulder and out from behind Chiro's protection. She tumbled through the air as the black monkey pushed Chiro back hard, making him stumbled, before turning to attack Geni. Luckily, she was swiftly scooped up by Sparx who held her protectively to his chest.

"Look I don't know what your deal is, but there is no way you are laying a hand on little Princess, you got that, ya faceless weirdo?" Sparx snapped as the simian seemed to glare with just a tip of his head. Chiro tried to use the distraction to hit him but, without even turning around, the black primate reach behind and caught Chiro's fist and flipped him over his shoulder in a very similar fashion to the move he had performed on Genesis, Sparx did not catch Chiro though.

"Honestly, your ignorance astonishes me." The black ape sighed while shaking his head. "You honestly think you can catch me by surprise? Here in this realm that I not only rule but created?" Chiro and Sparx exchanged a glance of confusion.

"What do you mean you created this?" Chiro asked as he pushed himself up.

"I mean do you think that this is all just a figment of Gidget's imagination? Please the girl is far too dense to every conceive something this vast and expansive. This place is my creation and you are all just guests that I have allowed here momentarily." He cackled as Genesis pushed herself out of Sparx's arms.

"Hey that's my sister you're insulting!" She snapped as the black monkey only laughed harder.

"I still can't believe that you and she refer to each other by those preposterous honorifics like they actually meant something!" His harsh laughter echoed through the empty halls. "But you two were always the weakest of us, so I suppose you had to hold on to a pathetic hope that we were all family to justify staying. That's the real reason you stayed so long isn't? Because you were afraid that if you left you would be utterly isolated in the universe." Genesis stumbled backwards, his words striking her like knives.

"We stayed because you imprisoned us!" She countered angrily while clinching her fists.

"_You_ stayed because you were too weak to ever leave on your own, Gidget stayed for other reasons though." He taunted as Geni glared at him.

"Like what?" The café colored monkey snapped back.

"The fact that she actually _liked_ what she did." His voice crawled as Genesis lowered her hands slowly. "Has it ever crossed your mind that your precious 'sister' might have actually enjoyed torturing others?" He laughed wickedly as Chiro jumped to Geni's side.

"There is no way that our goofy Gidget could ever be that evil." He shouted as the black monkey actually seemed to smirk.

"Your Gidget? I think you know nothing about 'your Gidget'. I have access to her memories and that allows me to do more than just torment her, I know exactly what she was thinking just weeks ago when you were acting too pathetic to lead your sad excuse for a team. And the truth is that you all have already suspected her of malicious intent long before that." He hissed as Sparx and Chiro exchanged a quick look.

"That was before we really got to know her though!" Sparx countered as the black simian shook his head with a low snicker.

"I suppose you can believe whatever you want to. But I know what fear lurks in your hearts, you know the truth." He shook his head and laughed as Gibson and his unidentifiable counterpart suddenly rolled in-between the group.

"Is there any way I could bother one of you for assistance?" He snapped as he pinned his assailant to the ground. "I am positive that it does not take three of you to chat with him." He nodded towards the black monkey as the denim monkey placed its feet on Gibson's stomach and abruptly pushed upwards, sending the scientist flying.

"What, are you having trouble handling me on my own?" The faceless ape finally spoke, and with a surprisingly sophisticated and feminine voice.

"Oh okay so you're a girl too, huh?" Sparx asked while hooking his thumb backwards to the pink monkey who was locked in combat with Nova. "Good to know I'm not the only one, that makes me feel better."

"Sparx, help Gibson I can handle this freak on my own." Chiro ordered while turning to Genesis. "You go and try to free Gidget." The small monkey nodded in response and ran to assist her sister. The black simian turned from the fleeing Genesis to Chiro as Sparx rushed to aid Gibson.

"You think I am just going to stand by and allow you to do that?" He questioned Chiro as the boy smirked in return.

"No, but do you think I'm going to stand aside and allow you to do anything? Antauri tag-team!" He yelled as the silver simian gave a quick nod over his shoulder before locking hands with the yellow monkey he had been battling and activating his jet pack. He jetted upwards, dragging the maize color monkey after him before dropping him on top of the coal-black monkey. Both grunted in pain as Chiro and Antauri rushed to attack them together.

Meanwhile, Genesis scampered across the floor, quickly dodging the fighting pairs as she ran up to the struggling Gidget.

"I'm going to get you down from here Gidget, don't worry." Genesis reassured her as she looked over the metal lockboxes that covered Gidget's hands.

"Geni are you real talking?" Gidget asked in surprise as Geni smiled at her nervously.

"Yeah I really am, but ya know, this IS a dream." Gidget looked to the ground.

"Yeah, but in what way?" She asked sadly as Genesis tilted her head to look Gidget in the face.

"What do you mean?" She asked as Gidget sighed heavily.

"You guys coming to release me in a grand battle against our team?" She asked while looking out at the Hyper Force battling the featureless primates. "This is too good to be true, they have used illusions like this before to trick me, who's to say that you guys aren't the dream?" She sighed heavily again and seemed to age years in seconds.

"Gidget no!" Geni protested while lifting up Gidget's chin to face her. "We're real, well as real as we can be in a dream, look the point is that I'm here! I'm the real one here, not them, the h=Hyper Force is real." She tried to explain as Gidget just sadly shook her head.

"How am I honestly supposed to believe that?" she asked defeated. Genesis bit her lip in thought before groaning in exasperation and turning around.

"Nova, I need help!" She yelled to the sunshine monkey who was holding the pink monkey down and repeatedly punching her in the face. Unfortunately, it seemed to no effect on the female.

"Okay give me a second!" Nova yelled as she looked around for someone to take the faceless female off her hands. "Hey Sparx, come here and watch this one for me while I help Geni out!" Sparx looked up from where he was helping Gibson hold down his counterpart, looked at him with an apologetic expression before running to Nova. She pushed the faceless simian toward the red monkey, who tumbled to the ground before turning back towards Nova and snarling.

"Hey we're not done yet!" She snapped while lunging for Nova's feet, but was stopped short of grabbing her by Sparx who taken hold of her tail and held her back.

"No so fast there female me," Sparx said as he started dragging her back towards where Gibson was battling the blue female. "Your fight is with me now." She growled as she kicking him hard in the side, making him release her, and she scurried on all fours at Nova. Sparx tackled her to the ground though and the two proceeded to wrestle in the dirt as Nova ran over to where Genesis was trying to free the distraught Gidget's hands.

"What do you need help with?" Nova asked as Genesis jumped down to the ground.

"I can't get her free, and Gidget still doesn't believe that we're the real ones here!" Geni lamented as Nova walked up to Gidget and used a gentle hand to lift her chin up.

"Come on Gidg, open your eyes. We all agreed to come in here and help you defeat your nightmares, so start fighting back." Nova said forcefully as Gidget pulled her face out of the yellow monkey's hand.

"No that's not possible, I've been trapped here for years. I killed you all years ago!" Gidget protested as she violently shook her head. She took a few deep hitching breaths while holding back sobs. "I remember your blood on my hands, your bodies at my feet. That was real, this is real, you are not." Gidget looked away while closing her eyes. "Just go away and leave me here, please."

Nova frowned at Gidget before transforming her hands and jumping up to grab the mechanical box surrounding her hand.

"I'm not real, I'm the illusion?" Nova snapped as she gripped the box and began to pull it apart. "So this is all a clever trick to make you suffer, huh?" Nova got angrier with each word as the box groaned in protest and started to break apart. "And when all this is over we'll be gone and just those faceless monsters will be left you? That's what you are really gonna tell me you believe?" Sparks flew as she split the box in two jagged halves and threw them to the ground.

"Well I'll tell you what I know, this morning you weren't in this machine. We were sparing and trying out new weapons, and we managed to rip all the fur off my stomach, that was real." Nova grabbed Gidget's newly freed hand and placed it to her stomach. "This is real Gidget, it happened this morning, I can still feel it." Gidget looked from Nova's face back down to where her hand was pressed up against the yellow monkey's stomach and, where true to her word, her fur was missing. "This is real Gidget, not this mechanical prison that they've trapped you in, so come on and fight back! I know you are strong enough to defeat them, and you don't have to do it alone."

"I…I don't know if I…." Gidget struggled for words as she shook her head and the environment began to change. The great hall they were in started to get brighter, and the wires started to fall from her body. The featureless black primate looked up from where he was locked in combat with Antauri, and sighed heavily.

"Enough of this." He growled as he snapped his fingers together and cords snapped down from the ceiling. They grabbed the team and pulled them in to the air, binding them tightly as they all tried to struggle free. "As much fun as sparing is, I grow tired of it and you have all over stayed your welcome." The wires held them fast as the featureless primates slowly made their way towards Gidget, who cowered back in fear.

She looked quickly up to Nova before shutting her eyes and whispering to herself. "You aren't real, you are a dream, you can't really hurt me, I got away…" The green unidentifiable simian gripped her by the neck and pulled her close to his face.

"Oh we'll show you real alright, and trust me I'll never let you forget about me again, Gidgie." He taunted with a wicked laugh as Gidget pushed him away from her, hard. He stumbled back as Gidget screamed into his face.

"You aren't real here! I left you behind!" She clinched her fist as she glared at all the anonymous monkeys in turn. "And if you think I'm gonna let you keep hurting my team anymore, well you all are going to be sorely mistaken. This is my mind, not yours, and you do not have control over me anymore. So. Get. Out!" The entire castle shook with each word, and the apes seemed to waver, as if they would disappear again. But then they started cackling.

"You really think that you can get rid us that easily?" The pink one giggled teasingly, "That if you just yell at us a bit we're gonna fold over like a stack of cards?" She laughed harder as the blue female slowly shook her head.

"You were always idiotic Gidget, but really this is just ridiculous. You will never be rid of us, not truly, we will always find you." She taunted as the yellow male crossed his arms.

"We are weak." He growled shortly. "And pathetic, you can never get rid of us."

"You can't even do the simple task of escaping us from your own mind. You aren't even the one in control in here, how hopeless." The black one finished as the group moved in on the violet monkey.

"Leave her alone!" A voice suddenly rang out from above. The five faceless primates stopped and turned up to see Otto struggling against the wires. "She isn't weak or pathetic or any of those other mean things you said about her!"

"Otto's right!" Nova joined in. "Gidget is one of the strongest people I know, even if she doesn't always see it herself."

"She's one of the kindest too." Genesis piped up. "And she is nothing like you all, she isn't wicked like you said, she's good!"

"If anything her main problem is that she has no confidence." Antauri added as he locked eyes with her.

"The only thing you said with any truth to it was that she is scared." Chiro stated as he glared at the nameless team. "But not really of you, she was more worried about what we will think about her once we learned about her past."

"But she never realized that we really wouldn't care." Gibson added as he looked to the rest of the team for confirmation. "We judge her by what we see now, because we realize that you cannot judge people by their worst acts, but rather who they are now."

"We all make mistakes, heck, I've made some pretty bad ones too." Sparx finished as he could only smile weakly. "But I'm learning how to let my past go and I'm not gonna let it torment me anymore. So don't let it get you Giggles!" Sparx yelled out while pumping his fist in the air.

"This is your mind." Otto shouted while smiling broadly. "Take them out, Gidg!" The purple simian grinned up at her team with amazement, but the small smile disappeared as the black monkey began to laugh again.

"Do you really thing that the silly speech will change anything-"

"Yes, it will." Gidget interrupted him as she was released her mechanical bonds and dropped to the ground. "Because they are right, and I'm going to show you how having a nice, supportive, loving, kind family behind me makes me so much stronger, smarter, and better than I could have ever been with you." She swung her hands high over her head and slammed them down to the ground with a loud smack. The wires holding the Hyper Force in place released them, and quickly tied up the nameless team instead.

"We will find you." The black one hissed as he struggled against the wires. "And when we do we'll show you and this pathetic excuse for a team how little "family" truly means-"

"Oh shut up." Gidget sighed as she rolled her eyes and made a sweeping hand motion. A large, thick band wrapped around where the black monkey's mouth should have been, and he fell into a muffled silence as the team ascended into the darkness above. The Hyper Force looked up as they walked closer to Gidget.

"Where did they go?" Chiro asked as Gidget grinned widely.

"I think I just sent them back where they came from."

"Uh, and where exactly is that?" Sparx asked while scratching his head.

"Back to their own minds." Antauri stepped forward with his arms behind his back to explain. "The bodies they used might have been physical representations influenced by Gidget and Genesis, but the spirit behind them were foreign bodies. They were guests here in Gidget's mind just as we are," He turned towards Gidget and Genesis. "I believe we were just given our first informal introduction to your old team, correct?" Gidget and Genesis exchanged a quick grimace.

"Yeah pretty much." Genesis agreed while she hugged Gidget tightly. "But like I said before, that wasn't a perfect physical picture of them, I know some features were wrong or completely missing, but that did seem like them personality wise."

"Cause it was them." Gidget confirmed while looking to the rest of the team. "While I was tied up there I suddenly remembered something, the first time that I fought the Skeleton King with you guys, you know when he picked me up and threatened me? Well back then he had warned me about my past and had done…something to my mind, sending me bad vibes and bringing up old memories with it. At least that's what I assumed he had done until now, I finally realized what it is he did all those weeks ago, he had reconnected my mind with the leader of our team, you know, that lovely black furred creature you all met?"

"So wait, you mean that Skeleton King sent some kind of psychic radio signal out to them, and they've been sending back some kind of nightmare wave to mess with you this whole time?" Chiro asked as Gidget nodded solemnly.

"As best as I can understand and explain it, yeah."

"What I don't understand," Gibson spoke while rubbing his temple with one hand. "Is how Skeleton King seemed to know not only about you but your team as well before we ever arrived in the Citadel?" Gidget and Genesis exchanged another looked before they both shrugged.

"I don't know." Gidget admitted while shaking her head slowly. "A lot of my memories on that kind of stuff is still fuzzy, but I can tell you something that I'm starting to get a feeling about." She slowly looked at each member of the Hyper Force as she spoke. "I'm beginning to think that we've all known each other for a lot longer than we think we've had."

"You think the Alchemist really did invent you guys too, huh?" Chiro restated as Gidget nodded slowly.

"I know that we already kinda came to that conclusion, but the more time I spend here on Shugazoom the more I feel like I've been here before, that I've met all of you before…Well excluding you Chiro, but for obvious reasons." The human leader nodded. "What about you Geni, do you feel like we've been here before too?"

"Most definitely." She confirmed with a quick gesture, her bow bouncing along with her head.

"I just wish we could remember more of our past," Nova stated while sighing heavily. "I mean before the Alchemist erased it. If Gidget's theory is correct and we all knew each other before, then why didn't we remember anything about another team of robotic monkeys somewhere in the universe?"

"And what happened to make them so mean?" Otto added while looking to the girls apologetically. "No offence but they are not very nice, and pretty much seem like big ole jerks."

"They were the biggest jerks." Genesis confirmed while rubbing her arms.

"I don't have all the answers yet." Gidget said as she wrapped a comforting arm around Geni. "I can't tell you where they are, what they looked like or even tell you their names yet. I wish I could, but I just don't remember enough about them to." She sighed while looking down at the ground, but suddenly, she lifted her head back up and tapped a finger to her chin. "But I can show you a bit of what they were like, or at least some of the after math of the destruction they've caused."

"How?" Gibson asked while looking around at the rest of the team as Gidget smiled weakly and have a small shrug.

"By letting you see it for yourselves."

.::~::.

"Gidget, are you sure about this?" Nova turned to the violet monkey, who nodded slowly.

"There is a lot about my past that you guys need know, and this is the easiest and quickest way to get the completely unfiltered version." Gidget confirmed as the team turned back to the great, marble wall in front of them.

The last time she had been here, the wall had been solid and unmarred except for a single deep crack in the middle, but now it was covered in cracks and crevices. The shining brilliant structure that it had once been was now nothing more than a ghost, the wall looked diseased and bizarre, its pristine whiteness replaced with a sickly gray. In some places large sections of the rock had actually fallen to the ground and shattered there, it was no wonder Gidget's memories were leaking out into her dreams if this is what state the mental block was in. Gidget sighed as she walked closer the immense structure, making sure to skirt around the large pieces of fallen stone.

"I don't think you'll like what you see and I really won't like what I'm showing you, but it needs to be done." She turned back to the team with a grave expression. "We're team members and you guys need to know what I've done. I need to let you see what I've done." Gidget clarified as she stood tall against the backdrop of her broken wall.

"So, what do we need to do then?" Otto asked as he leaned back to try to see the top of the wall. "Hop over it, I mean I'm sure we could imagine a grappling hook to get us over if we need to." Gidget actually managed to laugh as she shook her head.

"Nothing that drastic." She stepped aside and waved a hand over the many cracks that ran through structure. "Just set up and take a peak." She finished weakly as Genesis stepped forward and squeezed her hand.

"It will be okay, Gidget." Geni smiled up at her with confidence. "They will understand you did what you had to do to survive with them, you had no choice."

"Like I've said Meteor," Sparx smiled as he patted her on the back. "I've done worse."

"I doubt that Sparx, but I do know that I did what I had to do to protect Geni. Even if that meant hurting others to do it. I regret it, if I could go back and redo it all I would have run away with her far sooner than we did, but I can't." Gidget took a deep breath as she looked at the rest of the team. "But I can make up for my past mistakes now, and that's all I could ask for." The rest of the team nodded as Geni hugged her side tightly. "So everyone find a comfortable spot, I think we might be here for a while."

* * *

And thus we reach the end of Episode 55! I lied to you guys, this was almost half the size of the last chapter, not a quarter, but I think it concludes well enough and you got a small fight scene with a lot of dialog in it.

I'm planning on going into more detail about Gidget and Genesis's past and their old team later…. Unfortunately that won't be until Book 2. But this book only has 2 more episodes so that's just 8 chapters, which isn't too bad. There are a few more loose ends to tie up in this book (that really don't have to do with the girls that much so you get a break from reading about them) before we can move on to actually learning hard facts about their past and not just my vague foreshadowing I like to give.

But as a heads up, I'll probably actually do a Chapter of Book 0 next, so be on the lookout for that later this week. BUT it is Valentine 's Day on Thursday and I kind want to write something small and fluffy for that so if you guys have any requests I might make a short story to put in TTNOS so we can all get our "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawww" on.

I think that's all I have for today, don't forget to review and tell me all the things I did wrong!


End file.
